Ebony

ebony, common name for members of the Ebenaceae, a family of trees and shrubs widely distributed in warmer climates and in the tropics. The principal genus, Diospyros, includes both ebony and persimmon trees. Ebony wood, valued from ancient times, is hard and dark; it is extensively used for piano keys and in cabinetmaking, especially the black Macassar ebony of India and the East Indies. Several species (notably D. hirsuta) that have wood striped with black or with shades of brown are called calamander wood or variegated ebony. Several other unrelated hardwoods are commonly called ebony. Of the many species in the family bearing edible fruit, the best known are the persimmons. D. virginiana is native in the United States E of the Mississippi. The Japanese persimmon (D. kaki) is cultivated in Japan and China, in the Mediterranean area, and in the warmer regions of the United States. The unripe fruit contains tannic acid, a powerful astringent. Soft and pulpy when ripe, persimmons are difficult to market. Large quantities are eaten on the tree by opossums, whence the name possumwood for the tree. Persimmon wood has a limited use in the manufacture of objects (e.g., golf club heads) requiring hard wood. The ebony family is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, order Ebenales, class Magnoliopsida.

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ebony

Wood of several species of trees of the genus Diospyros (family Ebenaceae), found widely in the tropics. The best is very heavy, almost black, and from heartwood only. Because of its colour, durability, hardness, and ability to take a high polish, ebony is used for cabinetwork and inlaying, piano keys, knife handles, and turned articles. The best Indian and Ceylon ebony is produced by D. ebenum, which grows in abundance west of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. Jamaica, American, or green ebony comes from Brya ebenus, a leguminous tree or shrub.

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ebony

1. any of various tropical and subtropical trees of the genus Diospyros, esp D. ebenum of S India, that have hard dark wood: family Ebenaceae

2. the wood of such a tree, much used for cabinetwork

3. 

a. a black colour, sometimes with a dark olive tinge

b. (as adjective: ebony skin

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ebony [′eb·ə·nē]

(botany)

Any of several African and Asian trees of the genusDiospyros,providing a hard, durable wood.

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ebony

Wood of a number of tropical species usually distinguished by its dark color, durability, and hardness; used for carving, ornamental cabinetwork, etc.

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Ebony 

the dark wood of several species of tropical trees of the family Ebenaceae and several other families (Mimosaceae, Papi-lionaceae). Its color ranges from green to black. The best grades of ebony come from the tropical Diospyros crassiflora, D. ebenum, D. haplostylis, D. melanoxyion, and D. reticulata. The black heartwood is uniform in structure, heavy (with a density greater than 1), and hard. The annual rings and medullary rays are unnoticeable. Green ebony is obtained chiefly from the Central American Tecoma leucoxylon of the family Bignoniaceae.

Ebony is used as an ornamental facing for expensive furniture. It is also used in inlaid work and for the manufacture of musical instruments and various other wooden articles. The wood of D. lotus, from Transcaucasia and Middle Asia, is used in the USSR as an ebony substitute. It is used for various lathed objects, in joinery, and in the manufacture of shuttles for looms.