- Diospyros crassiflora
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- "Gaboon Ebony" redirects here.
Gaboon Ebony Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Ericales Family: Ebenaceae Genus: Diospyros Species: D. crassiflora Diospyros crassiflora, commonly known as Gaboon Ebony, is a species of lowland-rainforest tree in the family Ebenaceae that is endemic to Western Africa. It is named after the West African state of Gabon.
The wood this particular tree produces is believed to be the blackest of all timber-producing Diospyros species, and the heartwood from this tree has been in extremely high demand since ancient Egyptian times.[1] It is hard, exceptionally durable, has very fine pores, and polishes to a high-luster. It is used in sculpture, carvings, pool cues, door knobs, tool and knife handles, gun-grips, black keys on pianos, organ-stops, guitar fingerboards and bridges, and chess pieces. It is the wood of choice for the fingerboards, tailpieces, and tuning pegs used on all orchestral stringed instruments, including violins, violas, cellos, and double basses.
References
- ^ Mark Nesbitt, The Cultural History of Plants, p 321, Routledge, New York-London, 2005
Categories:- Diospyros
- Flora of Africa
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