''Diospyros egrettarum'' is a species of tree

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

and was once a dominant species throughout dry and coastal forests. Due to harvests for timber and firewood in the past the species was reduced to fewer than 10 individuals on the main land. The only viable population remained on

Île aux Aigrettes Ile aux Aigrettes is an islet off the south-east coast of Mauritius. It functions as a nature reserve and a scientific research station. It is also a popular visitors attraction - both for tourists and for Mauritians. Geography It has an area o ...

, a coral island off the east coast, where it was able to survive thanks to protective measures, such as the eradication of exotic plants and rats. The tree is named after this Island.

Morphology

Most characteristic feature of the tree is the white bark of the often multistemmed trees. They form rectangular leathery leaves of dark colour with thick waxy cuticles. This species closest relative is ''

Diospyros leucomelas ''Diospyros leucomelas'' (marble ebony, bois d'ebene marbre or bois d'ebene a veines) is a species of tree endemic to Mauritius. Description This low, multi-stemmed tree species resembles the related species ''Diospyros egrettarum'' (and less s ...

'' (and less so ''

Diospyros revaughanii ''Diospyros revaughanii'' is a rare species of tree in the family Ebenaceae (ebony). The tree is one of several species of ebony tree which are endemic to the island of Mauritius, in the western Indian Ocean. Description A short, evergree ...

''), and it shares with these species a leathery leaf surface, a rounded leaf-base, very short petiole, and short fruits. The forest reaches an average canopy height around 5–8 metres, likely the height is restricted by the shallow depth of soil (seldom >15 cm), the floor is covered by native

monarch fern ''Microsorum scolopendria'', synonym ''Phymatosorus scolopendria'', commonly called monarch fern, musk fern, maile-scented fern, breadfruit fern, or wart fern is a species of fern within the family Polypodiaceae. This fern grows in the wild in ...

. If undisturbed, the forest is quite resilient to invasive plants.

Gallery

File:Diospyros egrettarum ebony planted by Nelson Mandela - Pamplemousses 3.jpg, Detail of the dark, leathery, rectangular leaves File:Diospyros egrettarum trunk - Ile aux Aigrettes.jpg, Pale colour of the trunks File:Diospyros tesselaria fruit and seeds - Ile aux Aigrettes.jpg, The short, compact fruit and seeds File:Diospyros tesselaria trunk disection - Ile aux Aigrettes.jpg, Dissection of ''Diospyros egrettarum'' trunk showing the valuable hard, black core.

Ecological value

Large rats predate on fruits and seedlings and might have reduced regeneration in the past. The fruits of the tree are eaten by numerous native and invasive species, such as the

Telfair's skink ''Leiolopisma telfairii'', also known commonly as the Round Island ground skink, the Round Island skink, and Telfair's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Round Island, one of the islands of Mauri ...

pink pigeon The pink pigeon (''Nesoenas mayeri'') is a species of pigeon in the family Columbidae endemic to Mauritius. The pink pigeon nearly became extinct in the 1970s and the 1990s and is still very rare. It is the only Mascarene pigeon that has not beco ...

and Aldabra giant tortoise, all of which benefit the tree by dispersing and enhancing seed growth. New introduced Aldabra giant tortoise help to disperse the seeds

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15341038 Trees egrettarum Endemic flora of Mauritius