River ebony
River ebony
English name: Gaub
Scientific name: Diospyros malabarica
Local/Bangla name: ‘Gaub’
Taxonomic Position According to Cronquist (1981)
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Division | Magnoliophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Ebenales |
| Family | Ebenaceae |
| Genus | Diospyros |
| Species | D. peregrina
|
Botanical Description of River Ebony
Habit: Perennial tree up to 12 m tall.
Root: Tap root system
Stem: Bark grayish black, flaky; blaze dull red.
Leaf: Leaves simple, alternate, distichous; petiole up to 1.5 cm long, glabrous.
Fruit: Berry, globose, 4 cm across, reddish velvety.
Economic Importance
Both the bark of the tree and the unripe fruit have medicinal uses in herbal medicine. Unripe leaves and fruits were traditionally used to dye cloth black.
The ripened fruit has limited uses as edible fruit.