''Diospyros leucomelas'' (marble ebony, bois d'ebene marbre or bois d'ebene a veines) 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 ...

Description

This low, multi-stemmed tree species resembles the related species ''

Diospyros egrettarum ''Diospyros egrettarum'' is a species of tree endemic to 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 ...

'' (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 ...

'') in its dark, rectangular, leathery leaves, rounded leaf-base, very short petiole, and short fruits. ''Diospyros leucomelas'' can be distinguished by the red midribs of its leaves though, which remain into adulthood and become especially prominent on the leaf undersides.

Distribution and habitat

Like ''

'', it occurred in coastal and dry forest, all around Mauritius, and was especially common along the eastern coast. In fact, these two species were the only two primarily coastal or lowland species of ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...

'' in Mauritius. However ''D.leucomelas'' usually grew at mid altitudes, slightly further from the coast than its close relative. Currently ''D.leucomelas'' can still be found on the south-west of Mauritius, as well as in some of the mountainous areas in the east.

References

leucomelas Endemic flora of Mauritius {{Mauritius-stub