River ebony

River ebony

English name: Gaub

Scientific name: Diospyros malabarica (Desr.) Kostel

Local/Bangla name: ‘Gaub’

 

 

 

 

 

Taxonomic Position According to Cronquist (1981)

 

KingdomPlantae
DivisionMagnoliophyta
ClassMagnoliopsida
OrderEbenales
FamilyEbenaceae
GenusDiospyros
SpeciesD. peregrina

 

Botanical Description of River Ebony

Habit: Perennial tree up to 12 m tall.

k1600_img20161028162033

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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *