Diospyros ferrea (PROSEA)
Introduction |
Diospyros ferrea (Willd.) Bakh.
- Protologue: Gard. Bull. Str. Settl. 7: 162 (1933).
Synonyms
Maba buxifolia (Rottb.) A.L. Juss. (1804), Diospyros ferrea (Willd.) Bakh. var. buxifolia (Rottb.) Bakh. (1936).
Vernacular names
- Indonesia: bibisan (Java), ai meten, wawama (Moluccas)
- Philippines: batulinau (Tagalog).
Distribution
From West Africa to India, Indo-China, north to the Ryukyu Islands, east to the Malesian area, Australia, Melanesia and Polynesia.
Uses
D. ferrea is reported to be an important source of black ebony, but this is doubtful because of the unsatisfactory taxonomy of the group involved.
Observations
A small to medium-sized tree up to 30 m tall, bole branchless for up to 16 m, up to 50 cm in diameter, bark surface scaly, blackish; leaves elliptical or somewhat rhomboid to obovate, 1.6-6 cm × 0.8-3.1 cm, base acute to attenuate, apex rounded, retuse, or bluntly pointed, glabrous, tertiary venation reticulate, variably distinct; male flowers in (1-)3(-4)-flowered cymes, 3-merous, stamens (3-)12; female flowers solitary, 3-merous, calyx lobes valvate, tomentose on both surfaces, corolla divided to one-sixth, staminodes 6-12, ovary with a 3-fid style and 3 bi-ovulate locules; fruit ellipsoid to globose, 1-1.5 cm long, glabrous to sparsely hairy apically. D. ferrea is extremely variable and many varieties have been described. The taxonomy of this D. ferrea complex is far from clear: many separate species may be involved. It is common on dry places such as sandy or rocky coasts, and on limestone hills, but also behind mangrove vegetation, usually at low altitude. The density of the wood is about 1210 kg/m3at 15% moisture content.
Selected sources
42, 58, 104, 234, 324, 325, 374, 457, 527, 575, 586, 705.