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Ebenaceae FAMILY

Diospyros abyssinica

Diospyros abyssinica

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

A plant of the dry to moist tropics where it can be found at elevations of 200 - 2,500 metres. It is found in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 650 - 2,050mm, though its presence in drier areas depends on the availability of water along watercourses, from runoff from rocky outcrops, or in water-retaining soils of termite mounds[1]. We have seen no individual confirmation for this species, but in general Diospyros species are dioecious and require both male and female forms to be grown if fruit and seed are required[2]. Trees respond well to pruning, pollarding and coppicing[1, 3]. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[1].

Propagation

Seed - it has a very short viability and so should be sown as soon as possible[4]. The flesh should be removed since this contains germination inhibitors[4]. Sow the seed in a shady position in a nursery seedbed. The sowing media for ebony uses soil and fine sand at the ratio 3:1. The seed is planted horizontally or vertically with the radicle end down, with a sowing depth of 1 - 1½ times the thickness of seed. Distance between the seeds is 3 - 5cm. Seeds are very sensitive to desiccation during germination and early growth, so must be regularly watered at this time[4]. Normally the seed will germinate after one week. In one trial, fresh seed, sown one day after collection, showed 85% germination rate within 17 - 65 days[4]. As a rule fresh seeds have a high percentage of fertility. The seedlings develop long taproots at an early stage, often before any appreciable elongation of the shoot takes place. The growth of the seedling is decidedly slow [5]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Diospyros+abyssinica>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  2. [2]Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Vols 1 - 6 — Soepadmo E.; Saw L.G.; Chung R.C.K. (Editors) · Forest Research Institute Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur. · 2002 · ISBN 983-2181-27-5 ↩︎A flora of the woody plants of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo, often giving details of plant uses.
  3. [3]Useful Trees and Shrubs in Eritrea — Bein. E.; Habte. B.; Jaber. A.; Birnie. A. & Tengnas. B. · Regional Soil Conservation Unit: Nairobi · 1996 · ISBN 9966-896-24-4 ↩︎A very well written and concise guide to almost 200 species. It gives a brief description of each plant together with its habitat, uses, propagation and cultivation. Line drawings of each plant are also included It can be downloaded from the internet
  4. [4]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
  5. [5]The Silviculture of Indian Trees — Troup. R.S. · Oxford, at the Clarendon Press · 1921 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎An excellent treatment.