Ebony wood: photo, color. The fruit of the ebony tree. Ebony wood products

Ebony is a plant native to the tropics that belongs to the genus Persimmon and has a black (in some regions black with stripes) heartwood. Distribution area: tropical forests of Africa, islands of the Indian Ocean, some parts of Ceylon and India, southeastern and southern zones of Asia. Wood sinks in water. Other names for the plant: “music tree”, black, “zebra”, mpingo. Since ancient times, humanity has used the bark, foliage and wood of this plant, considering it magical.

Description and characteristics

Ebony (photos are posted in the article) is a diffusely vascular sound hardwood with white narrow sapwood (a layer of wood directly adjacent to the bark). It has a core with invisible annual layers of black color with a glossy surface. Its heart-shaped rays are very narrow, so they cannot be seen in any of the sections. Small vessels, collected in radial groups, are most often filled with core substances, colored black.

The density of dried ebony wood can vary from 1000 to 1300 kg/m³. The sapwood is quite narrow and contrasts sharply with the dark color of the heartwood. However, Caucasian persimmon, as well as several other types of trees, have one significant difference. It lies in the fact that their sapwood and mature wood are exactly the same in color.

Fruit

It must be said that since ancient times, ebony has been surrounded by mystical legends and beliefs. For example, the ancient Greek scientist Pausanias wrote that it is unfruitful and does not even have leaves, but consists only of roots, which the Ethiopians use for healing.

Most ebony trees growing in the tropics and subtropics are evergreen, but there are also deciduous species common in temperate climates. Caucasian persimmon also belongs to this genus. The fruit of the ebony tree is very large and tasty, resembling a tomato in appearance. In ancient Chinese scrolls they wrote about it 3 thousand years ago. Persimmons can be eaten raw, and can also be used to make jam, marshmallows, candied fruits, and even wines and liqueurs. In addition, it is considered a good dietary product.

African varieties

The concept of ebony ebony combines several species that grow in Asia (Sri Lanka, India) and Africa (Cameroon, Nigeria, Zaire, Ghana). Its main feature is the very dark main color of the core.

Cameroon ebony is the most common type of wood imported from the continent. It has a deep black color, sometimes with gray streaks. The main feature of this wood is its pronounced open pores, due to which it is valued much less than other fine-pored varieties.

Madagascar ebony is a dark brown wood with a density of up to 1000 kg/m³, has almost imperceptible pores, is extremely resistant to moisture, and is not afraid of termites.

Kinds

The most famous and valuable varieties of ebony are sold not by cubic meters, but by kilograms, almost like precious bars. The cost of 1 kg of ebony is about 100–150 dollars. Several types of wood are in particularly high demand.

Cameroon ebony

This tree grows up to 3–4 m, sometimes has a shrubby form. The ripening age of wood is 500–600 years. The sapwood of the logs is thick, reaching 70% of the massif. The kernel is black, matte, sometimes with ash-gray streaks. This breed of ebony has rather large vessels that are visible to the eye, which is considered a disadvantage of the material. The price of Cameroonian ebony is lower than that of other African species.

Ceylonese

Experts call this type real ebony, or ebony, and consider it a classic version of ebony. The surface of the core solid is a uniform dark shade without visible pores or stripes, with a matte sheen. Ceylon ebony is very durable and hard, and feels like stone. After polishing it acquires a noble glow. It is a valuable ornamental material.

Madagascar

Its homeland is the islands of Madagascar and Seychelles. The wood of this species has an ebony color - coal-black or dark brown, with a metallic sheen on cuts. The density of the array is more than 1000 kg/cubic. m, finely porous core.

Indonesian

This type of ebony is often called Macassar. Its distinctive feature is colored (maroon, orange or gold) stripes on a black background. Macassar wood is one of the densest - about 1300 kg/cub.m.

Lunar

A unique variety of ebony that grows only in the Philippines. Its wood has a delicate creamy hue with thin dark chocolate or black stripes intertwined into an intricate pattern. This species is one of the rarest and most valuable, and meeting it is a great success.

Asian varieties

Makassar ebony is a “colored” wood, the sapwood of which is yellowish-white in color, grows in Indonesia. The kernel itself is black with brown or light yellow stripes and has a very dense structure, reaching up to 1300 kg/m³. The dust from this tree, as well as from other ebony trees, is very toxic. It can cause various allergic reactions in the human body, for example, irritation on the skin or mucous membranes.

Mun ebony is a wood very similar to Macassar wood, but it comes from Vietnam and Laos.

Ceylon ebony has the best qualities: hard, with invisible pores, highly polished, extremely resistant to moisture and harmful insects. Products made from it are very difficult to find, as they are quite rare and are considered the highest quality and most expensive. It was from such wood that the best craftsmen made their furniture in the 16th-19th centuries.

Ceylon ebony

Trunk, branches and leaves

Bark

General view of a mature tree. Sri Lanka

Ebony persimmon

, or
Ceylon ebony , or Ceylon ebony
, or
Black ebony
(lat. Diospyros ebenum) is a species of trees from the genus Persimmon (Diospyros) of the Ebenaceae family, growing in India and Sri Lanka. It is a source of the most valuable black wood.

Botanical description

A medium-sized evergreen tree, 20–25 meters high, grows extremely slowly. The leaves are entire, oblong-oval in shape, about 6–15 cm long and 3–5 cm wide. The fruits are small, approximately 2 cm in diameter, similar to small persimmon berries.

According to some data, the density of dry wood is 1190 kg/m³.

Spreading

Found in southern India and Sri Lanka. A species of wood found in North Sulawesi Indonesia is Diospyros ebenum Koenig

, known as කළුවර ගස් (ghazkaluvara) by the Sinhalese people due to the hard black wood of the tree.

Wood

Sanded veneer

Veneer under varnish

End of the board

The end of the board is wood fibers, taken away. 10x

The heartwood of the tree is jet black, very rarely with a few gray or dark brown veins. The pale yellow or yellowish-gray sapwood is clearly separated from the heartwood. Wood with a metallic sheen and fine, even texture. Ironically, the best quality ebony looks like black plastic. The fibers can be straight, somewhat random, or wavy with a fine, uniform texture. Has a high level of natural shine. The heartwood of the tree is very resistant to rotting.

It is generally difficult to work with due to its density and strong dulling effect on the incisors.

Drying wood is difficult. It happens that it is difficult to glue. Ebony is superbly sharpened and polishes well with a very high natural shine.

Practical use

Elephant figurines made from Ceylon ebony wood
In the 16th–19th centuries, it was from Ceylon ebony wood

made better furniture. It was a favorite wood for door and window handles, cutlery handles, and the trimmings were used to make knitting needles and hooks or for razor handles. Currently, it is used for artistic crafts, parts of musical instruments (for example, piano and upright keys, necks, tailpieces and stands of stringed instruments), turning products (including chess pieces), expensive fountain pens, knife handles, brush blocks, sticks for food, it is suitable for wood inlay and mosaic.

The wood is so valuable that it is sold by the kilogram or by the piece.

Exclusive varieties

Moon ebony is a very rare variety of the mabolo species. It is native to the Philippines and is found exclusively in the impenetrable tropical forests of Myanmar. This ebony wood, the color of which has unusual light shades, looks very beautiful. So, immediately after cutting, white wood with dim, greenish stains predominates, but after drying, the color scheme changes to a golden-yellow hue with black patterns, stripes and veins. Sometimes, instead of dark, you can see other shades, for example, blue or chocolate.

By the way, cutting down moon ebony in Myanmar and exporting it from the country is strictly prohibited. Quotas for its procurement are sold very rarely, and even then in small quantities. Such strictness is due to the fact that only those trees whose age ranges from 400 to 1000 years are intended for felling. Interestingly, moon ebony is no different in appearance from others. Its color will only be visible after cutting.

Varieties

Elephant figurines made from Ceylon ebony
Ebony wood is divided into varieties depending on the type of plant that is its source.

• Cameroon ebony
  - wood of the species Diospyros crassiflora Hiern; comes from Africa and is the most common variety of ebony on the market, usually deep black in color or with gray streaks. It is characterized by pronounced open pores, as a result of which it is valued significantly lower than other finely porous varieties.
• Ceylon ebony
  - wood of the species Ceylon ebony, or Black ebony (
  Diospyros ebenum
  J.Koenig); has the best quality: very hard (twice as hard as oak), polishes well (after polishing it becomes perfectly smooth), practically without visible pores, resistant to termites and water. In the 16th–19th centuries, the best furniture was made from this type of ebony.
• Madagascar ebony
  - wood of the species Diospyros perrieri Jum.; has a dark brown color, very small pores, is resistant to termites and water, density is about 1000 kg/m³.

Makassar ebony

• Flame ebony
  is a wood from the species Diospyros celebica Bakh. (Indonesia); considered “colored” ebony, its sapwood is yellowish-white, and the heartwood is black with a very characteristic pattern of light yellow and brown stripes, looking at which one gets the impression of flames blazing through the wood. The wood is very dense and resistant, dust causes irritation to the skin, eyes and lungs (dust from other ebony trees too). Density ranges from 1100 to 1300 kg/m³.
• Makassar ebony
  is an ebony wood with a characteristic pattern of alternating straight black and brown stripes. The wood is dense and sinks in water.
• Mun ebony
  - wood of the species Diospyros mun A.Chev.; comes from Laos and Vietnam and is similar in coloring to Makassar ebony.
• Moon ebony
  is wood from the Mabolo species (
  Diospyros blancoi
  A.DC.); An extremely rare variety of black ebony. Homeland - Philippines, now found only in the impenetrable forests of Myanmar. Moon ebony is the only variety among ebony trees with light-colored wood. The wood texture is very beautiful. When cut, it has a white color with greenish streaks. After drying, the wood acquires a golden-yellow color with black streaks, veins and stripes. Sometimes stains and stripes can have other shades, for example, bluish, greenish, chocolate. Moon ebony is prohibited from cutting and export. Myanmar rarely sells quotas for small shipments. Trees allowed for felling are between 400-450 and 1000 years old. This happens because the sapwood of ebony trees sometimes makes up up to 70% of the total thickness of the tree and is separated and thrown away immediately after cutting the tree, taking only the hard core, which is located in the very center of the trunk. The fact that the ebony tree turned out to be lunar is determined as the tree is cut down, since outwardly it is indistinguishable from other types of ebony trees. Ebony grows very slowly - centuries pass before the tree grows to commercial size. Due to its extremely slow growth, ebony wood acquires enormous density - up to 1300 kg/m³. It is very demanding on drying conditions, and after drying it loses a lot in volume. Contains a large amount of essential oils, therefore it is resistant to environmental influences, changes in humidity and temperature, does not rot, and is resistant to damage by insects, including termites. The most expensive, rare, exclusive and beautiful billiard cues are made from moon ebony, having high playing characteristics and hardness, however, it is worth noting that not every craftsman will undertake the manufacture of a cue from moon ebony, since the structure of the fibers and great hardness require a great deal from the master experience in processing this very expensive wood and the availability of special tools with increased wear resistance, since moon ebony quickly and easily dulls almost any cutting woodworking tool. Lunar ebony cues, especially solid ones, are piece goods and are very expensive. Furniture and interior items, decorative parquet, souvenirs, and inlays are also made from lunar ebony. A square meter of moon ebony parquet is sold individually and costs on average about $50,000 (2013).

Drying Features

The ebony tree grows quite slowly: it can take centuries until it reaches marketable size. It is because of this that the wood becomes so dense (up to 1300 kg/m³) and easily sinks in water. Its mechanical properties are very high: the bending strength of some Indian and African species reaches 190 MPa, and its hardness is 2 times that of oak. In addition, ebony perfectly withstands large shock loads.

Drying such wood is not an easy task. If the technology is disrupted, it will greatly decrease in volume. Therefore, in countries where they harvest it, as in ancient times, they do a special preliminary cutting 2 years before felling. It is done in this way: layers of sapwood are cut in a circle at the base of the trunk in order to stop the growth of the tree.

After the preparation and sawing of the trunk are completed, the finished boards, the ends of which are carefully treated with lime or other material, are stacked. The place for their further storage should be sheltered from the sun and free from drafts. Only by observing all the conditions listed above can you avoid drying out the wood too quickly. Typically this process takes at least six months. If at least one of the rules is violated, the boards may warp and become covered with numerous cracks.

Characteristics of wood

This material is one of the heaviest and most durable in the world. At a humidity of 15%, the density of the array ranges from 900 to 1100 kg/cubic. m, which is twice as high as oak. In the water he immediately drowns. The ebony massif is a core disseminated-vascular part that does not have annual rings. African and Madagascar ebony are truly black, sometimes dark brown or purple in color with a slight matte as well as metallic sheen. This feature is explained by the inclusion of various minerals in the composition of wood. The older the tree, the more valuable it is and the darker the color becomes.

There are varieties with a completely monochromatic texture, with contrasting crimson, golden stripes, with green, dark red, and reddish. Ebony has excellent natural oil content, water-repellent properties, does not rot, tolerates the effects of high and low temperatures and temperature changes, is not susceptible to fungus, and cannot be damaged by harmful insects. Thanks to its amazing density and mineral inclusions in its composition, it does not swell from moisture, and its wear resistance is such that its service life can be counted for centuries. But before the material acquires these qualities, a lot of time must pass.

Many ebony breeds grow and mature over several centuries, representing true heirlooms in themselves. Some specimens suitable for logging are about 1000 years old. Valuable species bear fruit extremely rarely. During life, the trunks rise to a height of 3–10 m, and in cross section they reach from 50 to 100 cm.

Preparing a mature tree also takes time and skill. Ebony is capricious and takes a very long time to dry due to its almost iron density. But ebony cannot be dried artificially; its value can only be preserved under natural conditions. In order for moisture to leave the wood faster, notches are made on the trunks 2–3 years before felling, which stop the growth process. Logs dried in this way are less likely to deteriorate during further processing. After the trees are cut down, their ends are treated with lime and covered with a special cloth, providing gentle drying conditions. The process takes several months - at least 6. During this period, it is important to protect the stacks of timber from wind and sunlight.

When drying, the wood loses a significant part of its volume due to the high content of essential oil, but after proper processing it becomes almost eternal.

The sapwood of black ebony is usually light-colored—yellow-gray or whitish—and is not valued at all. It is cut down at the harvesting stage, freeing the core of the trees. Since in some breeds it makes up half of the mass, sometimes most of it goes to waste.

Production Features

It should be noted right away that ebony wood is quite difficult to process, so men usually do this. Such painstaking work requires a lot of effort, and even making a small figurine can take a very long time. In addition, before you start working with ebony wood, you need to take care of safety. As mentioned above, dust and sawdust can cause an allergic reaction, so technicians usually wear glasses and a gauze bandage.

Indeed, ebony wood is very difficult to cut due to its high density, as well as the various mineral inclusions that are present in it. These properties negatively affect the cutting edges of tools, which become dull very quickly. The most difficult workpiece to process is the one whose fibers have a wavy structure. In addition, some types of wood are prone to chipping, especially Indonesian Macassar. However, it can be processed well on lathes. After the product is ready, it is sanded and thereby gives it a beautiful matte shine.

Application in the manufacture of musical instruments

People began to use ebony for their needs back in ancient times. It is worth noting that it has always been in price, so it was used mainly for the manufacture of various religious objects, sculptures, and, of course, expensive furniture. In addition, ebony wood is believed to be able to neutralize poisons, for this reason it was very often used to make tableware.

Eben is widely used in the manufacture of musical instruments such as flute, oboe and clarinet. Ebony is also excellent for piano keys and individual parts of the guitar, especially shells and necks. Professional musicians value such instruments very much. Thus, the polished shell on a guitar, made of ebony, does not emit unnecessary extraneous sounds even if the pick accidentally “jumps off” the string.

Advantages and application

The value of wood is in its color (all the beauty can be appreciated from the photo of ebony) and resistance to various external influences. It is noteworthy that even insects do not harm the tree. The wood is quickly polished and after this procedure acquires a metallic shine and becomes cold to the touch.

Due to its dense structure and resistance to moisture, ebony is used to make musical instruments (flutes, oboes, clarinets, piano keys). Wood for guitars is of particular value. Some parts of this instrument are made from it. Thus, the neck transfers the center of gravity of the guitar and does not wear out much, and the polished shell does not emit extraneous sounds when playing, or when the pick slides off the strings.

Chess (black pieces), knife handles, and various exclusive souvenir products are made from ebony. Of course, their cost is far from low.

Wood has gained enormous popularity in the furniture industry. Back in the 17th century, craftsmen appreciated it and used it in inlay and veneering.

At the beginning of the 19th century. Egyptian, Roman and Greek culture became fashionable, which led to the production and distribution of curule chairs. The products were very durable, but at the same time elegant and outwardly seemed weightless.

Since, as with ebony, ebony is often counterfeited, it is important to know how to identify a truly valuable species.

Authenticity is quite easy to determine. To do this, you need to take the object in your hand and evaluate its heaviness. A real ebony product, even if small in size, will be heavy.

Application in the furniture industry

In the 17th century, ebony wood was used not only in inlay, but also in veneering. But the greatest interest in it began to be shown only 200 years later, when a fashion began to take shape based on stylization of other cultures, for example, Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Indian, etc. Curule chairs with X-shaped legs were in particular demand. In Ancient Rome they were made of ivory or bronze, and in the century before last - from ebony. It looked light and graceful, but in fact it was a strong and reliable design.

Nowadays, becoming the proud owner of furniture made from ebony is an unheard of luxury that not many people can afford. Due to its properties, ebony wood, products from which are valued all over the world, is considered a very expensive material. Vases and figurines, canes and candlesticks, skillfully carved by talented craftsmen, will become truly valuable and rare acquisitions that can decorate any home.

Eben in mythology

In myths, magic and esotericism, ebony is often attributed magical properties. Thus, evil spirits cannot penetrate into houses surrounded by a palisade of ebony stakes, or ebony weapons can supposedly kill demons. Magic wands are also often made from ebony, and magical items must be kept in an ebony box to ensure they do not lose their power.