''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 ...
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 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, 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'' (and less so ''Diospyros revaughanii''), 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. 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
Rattus rattus, 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, pink pigeon 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
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q15341038
Trees
Diospyros, egrettarum
Endemic flora of Mauritius