Fabaceae FAMILY

Ebenopsis ebano

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree

GrowthSlow

A tree of warm temperate to tropical dry areas, able to withstand temperatures down to about -12°c^[1]. Grows best in a sunny position, succeeding in most well-drained soils including acid conditions, but prefers an alkaline soil^[2]. Tolerates compacted soils and windy sites^[2]. Established plants are very drought tolerant^[2].

Propagation

Seed - requires pre-treatment by first of all scarifying the seedcoat and then soaking the seed for 12 - 24 hours in warm water^[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ebenopsis+ebano>

Pollinators

Bees

References

[1]Desert Tropicals — http://www.desert-tropicals.com/ ↩︎The main focus of the site is succulent plants, but it also contains information on a wide range of other species. Usually at least one good photograph, plus basic information about the plant and its cultivation.
[2]Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida — University of Florida · http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/shrubs/ ↩︎PDF fact sheets on over 500 shrubs.
[3]Trees and Shrubs of Mexico — Standley P.C. · Smithsonian Institution; Washington · 1926 ↩︎Although dated, it contains a wealth of information on the trees and shrubs of Mexico, including many of their uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
[4]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[5]Phytologia Vol. 41 — H.N. & A.L. Moldenke; New Jersey. · 1978 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A botanical publication with articles on a range of topics. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
[PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎