''Diospyros malabarica'', the gaub tree, Malabar ebony, black-and-white ebony or pale moon ebony, is a species of
flowering tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
in the family
Ebenaceae
The Ebenaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to order Ericales. The family includes ebony and persimmon among about 768 species of trees and shrubs. It is distributed across the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world. It ...
that is native to the
Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
and
South East Asia.
It is a long-lived, very slow-growing tree, which can reach up to 35 m in height with a black trunk up to 70 cm in diameter. It is an evergreen tree with white or green flowers. The tree is found in lowland rainforests, primarily along rivers and streams.
Fruit
The fruits are round, and yellow when ripe. It may be somewhat often astringent, even when ripe. Its common name is derived from the coast of southwestern India,
Malabar
Malabar may refer to the following:
People
* Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India
* Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion
Places
* Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...
. It is the provincial tree of
Ang Thong Province in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
.
Uses
Both the bark of the tree and the unripe fruit have medicinal uses in
Ayurveda
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repo ...
. This tree was mentioned as ''Tinduka'' by
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
writers.
Rajendra Shinde in Flowers of India
/ref>
Unripe leaves and fruits were traditionally used to dye cloth black.
The wood is sometimes used in guitar manufacturing for its distinctive patterns.
References
External links
Diospyros malabarica (Desr.) Kostel. var. malabarica
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3595461
malabarica
Flora of tropical Asia
Plant dyes
Plants used in Ayurveda