Diospyros canaliculata
Diospyros canaliculata
Safety & Hazards
The bark-extract is strongly vesicant. It is a standard ingredient of arrow-poison mixtures in eastern Ivory Coast, and produces gangrene in the flesh around the wound facilitating penetration of other poisons in the mixture, especially of Mansonia spp (Sterculiaceae)[1]. The yellow fruit-pulp is caustic, oily and blackening in air. When rubbed on the skin it causes a burning sensation and turns the skin yellow. In Central African Republic it is put into arrow-poison compounds[1]. A mixture of the fruit and leaves, combined with the root of Parquetina nigrescens, is cooked to a syrup to put on arrow and spear heads for elephant hunting. Death is said to be rapid. The antidote to this poison is to apply ground-nuts crushed with young shoots of tamarind in a poultice[1]. The fruit and sap are used as a fish-poison; the bark and seeds are similarly used[1].
Cultivation Details
The flowers are pleasantly fragrant[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].
Propagation
Seed - in general the seed of Diospyros species has a very short viability and so should be sown as soon as possible. The flesh should be removed since this contains germination inhibitors. 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. Normally the seed will germinate after one week[3]. 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 [4]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Diospyros+canaliculata>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
- [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]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.
- [4]The Silviculture of Indian Trees — Troup. R.S. · Oxford, at the Clarendon Press · 1921 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎An excellent treatment.