Ebony trees are a group of tropical hardwood species in the Diospyros genus, prized for their dense, dark-coloured heartwood. There are over 700 species across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, valued for making furniture, carvings, musical instruments, and traditional crafts. They are slow-growing and can reach heights of 15 to 30m.
Among the best-known are Diospyros ebenum (Ceylon ebony) from India and Sri Lanka, Diospyros crassiflora (Gabon ebony) from Central and West Africa, and Diospyros celebica (Makassar ebony) from Indonesia. In the Pacific Islands, several native species thrive, including Diospyros samoensis and Diospyros pentamera, as Jack knows it.
D. pentamera, also called ‘black marblewood’ or ‘grey ebony’, is native to Australia and parts of the southwest Pacific. It grows in subtropical and tropical rainforests and plays a role in forest…
