Diospyros melanoxylon

Roxb.

Coromandel Ebony persimmon

Ebenaceae Edible: Fruit, Seeds 627 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Diospyros melanoxylon, the Coromandel ebony or East Indian ebony, is a species of flowering tree in the family Ebenaceae native to India and Sri Lanka; it has a hard, dry bark. Its common name derives from Coromandel, the coast of southeastern India. Locally it is known as temburini or by its Hindi name tendu. In Odisha, Jharkhand, and Assam, it is known as kendu. In Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana it is known as tuniki. The leaves can be wrapped around tobacco to create the Indian beedi, which has outsold conventional cigarettes in India.

Description

A medium sized tree. It grows to 15 m high. The bark is dark brown. It peels in large irregular pieces. There are many branches forming a dense crown. The leaves vary. They are 10-30 cm long by 2-10 cm wide. They are leathery. The base tapers to a wrinkled stalk. The flowers are greenish. The male flowers are in drooping clusters of 2-7 flowers. The female flowers occur singly and are 2-3 cm across. The fruit is yellow to brown. It is covered with rusty hairs. The fruit are round and 4-6 cm across. The fruit pulp is sweet and edible.

Edible Uses

The ripe fruits are eaten fresh; unripe fruit are buried in sand to ripen. The seeds are powdered and eaten. Fruits are sold in markets and are popular and nutritious.

Traditional Uses

The ripe fruit are eaten. Unripe fruit are buried in sand until they ripen. The seeds are powdered and eaten.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The leaf of the tree contains valuable flavones. The pentacyclic triterpenes found in the leaves possess antimicrobial properties, while the bark shows antihyperglycemic activity. The bark of four Diospyros species found in India has been determined to have significant antiplasmodial effects against Plasmodium falciparum, which causes malaria in humans.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows throughout the plains in India in deciduous forest.

Where It Grows

Andamans, Asia, Bangladesh, Himalayas, India*, Malaysia, Nepal*, Northeastern India, Pakistan, SE Asia, Sri Lanka,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed.

Propagation

Seed - pre-soaking the seeds for about 12 hours in cold water improves germination. Seeds can be sown in situ. Orthodox seed storage behaviour; viability maintained for 1 year in open storage; viability lost within 1 year in hermetic storage at room temperature with 11-15% mc. 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 .

Other Uses

The leaves are used as the wrapping around tobacco to make bidi cigarettes in India. The leaves possess unrivalled qualities of flavour, colour, flexible and leathery texture, decay resistance and easy workability, which make them admirably suitable for wrapping bidis. The wood is hard, whitish-pink, tough, fairly durable. It is used for building, shoulder poles, mine props and shafts of carriages. The ebony is very heavy and valued for carving and other ornamental works. A good fuel wood; the calorific value of the sapwood is 4957 kcal/kg and of the heartwood, 5030 kcal/kg.

Production

In India fruit are available June to August. In southern India, February to April.

Other Information

The fruit are sold in markets. They are popular and nutritious.

Notes

There are about 485 species of Diospyros mostly in the tropics.

Nutrition

Part	Moisture	kJ	kcal	Protein	Vit A	Vit C	Iron	Zinc
Fruit	—	—	—	0.4	—	0.5	—	—

Synonyms

Diospyros dubia Wall. ex A. DC.Diospyros exsculpta Bedd.Diospyros melanoxylon var. melanoxylonDiospyros roylei Wall. ex A. DC.Diospyros wightiana Wall. [Invalid]Diospyros tupru Buch.-Ham.

Also Known As

Abanasi, Bale, Beedi-leaf tree, Bidipata, Dirghapataka, Dirghapatraka, Govindo, Karai, Kari, Karundumbi, Kendu, Kumki, Mancigata, Nallatumki, Taidu, Taidua, Tamrug, Tembhrun, Tembhurani, Tembhurni, Tembhru, Temburni, Temru, Tendu, Tendupata, Thumbimaram, Thummika pandlu, Timburni, Timru, Tiril, Tumari, Tumbi, Tumida, Tumki, Tumri, Tuniki

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Bole, P.V., & Yaghani, Y., 1985, Field Guide to the Common Trees of India. OUP p 41

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