11 Different Types Of Ebony Wood (Diospyros Crassiflora)

Table of Contents Show 1. Would you like to save this? 2. Quicklist: Types of Ebony Wood 3. What is Ebony Wood? 4. An Exotic History 5. What is Ebony Wood and what Are Its Features? 5.1. A. The Wood 5.2. B. The Tree 5.2.1. Ebony Wood Density 5.2.2. Does ebony wood float? 6. Different Types of Ebony Wood 6.1. 1. Ceylon Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros ebenum) 6.2. 2. African Ebony Wood(Scientific name: Diospyros mespiliformis) 6.3. 3. Gaboon Ebony or Gabon Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros dendo) 6.4. 4. Macassar Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros celebica) 6.5. 5. Pale Moon Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros malabarica) 6.6. 6. Coromandel Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros melanoxylon) 6.7. 7. Mauritius Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros tessellaria) 6.8. 8. Mun Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros mun) 6.9. 9. Myrtle Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros pentamer) 6.10. 10. Queensland Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros humilis) 6.11. 11. Brazilian Ebony (Scientific name: Swartzia tomentosa) 7. How to Identify Ebony 8. What Is Ebony Wood Used For? 9. Working With Ebony 10. Final Word 11. Ebony FAQs 11.1. 1. Why is ebony wood so dense and black? 11.2. 2. Is ebony wood waterproof? 11.3. 3. How do I polish ebony? 11.4. 4. Why is ebony so expensive? 11.5. 5. Where does ebony wood come from? 11.6. 6. How is ebony wood harvested? 11.7. 7. Is ebony sustainable? 11.8. 8. How much does ebony cost? 11.9. 9. Is ebony wood endangered? 11.10. 10. Can’t I just use a stain for a dark wood look? 11.11. 11. What are some alternatives to ebony? 11.12. 12. Where can you buy ebony wood?

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Quicklist: Types of Ebony Wood

1. Ceylon ebony
2. African ebony
3. Gaboon ebony
4. Macassar ebony
5. Pale moon ebony
6. Coromandel ebony
7. Mauritius ebony
8. Mun ebony
9. Myrtle ebony
10. Queensland ebony
11. Brazilian ebony

Below we explain each type in more detail plus plenty of additional information about ebony wood in general.

What is Ebony Wood?

Ebony wood, species Diospyros crassiflora, (sometimes also referred to as zebrawood) is the most expensive, rarest and most exotic type of wood in the world.

For centuries, especially the past 500 years, ebony wood has been the most prized possession at royal courts. It has been used as decoration pieces by kings, princes and dukes throughout Europe and Asia.

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An Exotic History

Moreover, the royals of Asia used it as a drinking cup as well because they believed it could neutralize poisons. Back in the day, countries would use ebony wood as the main tribute for the greedy conquerors.

Ebony wood, in its realist form, is heavy, dense, and pitch black. It is attractive, precious, and the “must have” wood for many individuals. Since it possesses so many wonderful qualities, it is important to take a deeper look into this wood type and fully understand everything about it.

What is Ebony Wood and what Are Its Features?

The wood of the ebony tree is both slow-growing and highly in demand, which makes it one of the most sought-after wood species in the world. This makes the price of ebony relatively high, compared to other commercial woods.

A. The Wood

Ebony has a striped grain. The body is the perfect combination of reds and browns, while brown is the most dominant color in the species. The color of the stripes ranges from black to dark brown. Ebony is hard and dense. In fact, ebony wood is one of the hardest woods on the planet.

The Janka score varies depending on the type of ebony tree but the hardest is Brazilian ebony with a Janka score of 3,690. The softest is

B. The Tree

An adult ebony tree reaches a height of about 30 feet. The younger trees have crowns that are cyclical and the older ones have a crown that is made of different branches that stretch horizontally. The life expectancy of the ebony is unknown but it can easily live for half a millennia or more.

Ebony wood is attractive to the eye but it is quite difficult to carve into.

The high demand of this wood and limited and slow growth has caused this wood type to be categorized amongst the rarest wood species in the world, hence, causing it to become one of the most expensive wood types in the world as well.

Depending on what type of ebony wood it is, how black it is, and its uses, the prices for the wood are remarkably high.

Looking from afar, this wood has a striped appearance. The body is the perfect combination of reds and browns, while brown is the most dominant color in the species. The color of the stripes is usually pitch black or a dark brown shade that looks black.

An adult tree reaches the height of at least 20 meters, but some of the trees have the potential to grow bigger, going above 30 meters. The younger trees have crowns that are cyclical and the older ones have a crown that is made of different branches that stretch horizontally.

Ebony Wood Density

The tree is considered to be hard and dense. Known to have more than 3200 Janka, this wood is one of the hardest wood on the planet.

The life expectancy is also unknown, but what is known is that it can reach the maturity of a minimum of 1 century. The tree can easily live for half a millennia or more.

Does ebony wood float?

Because this tree has the insane ability to resist any sort of rot, it is highly durable. In addition, since it has such hardness and density, it is also considered as one of the few kinds of wood that does not float on top of the water.

The ebony tree produces female and male flowers that bud during the springtime. Although the flowers are small in size compared to other ones, they have a strong scent.

Another reason why this jet-black wood is considered to be so valuable is that the roots have medicinal properties. In the past, the roots have been used to cure different kinds of infectious diseases and parasites.

The fruits that grow on the tree feed different monkeys and apes. The leaves are food for big animals like elephants.

Different Types of Ebony Wood

Below you will find:

• Ebony wood colors
• Black wood types
• Ebony examples with pictures
• Ebony wood scientific names

1. Ceylon Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros ebenum)

Apart from being evergreen, the Ceylon grows from 60 to 85 feet tall. It also has big leaves that are almost eight inches long. The interior is jet-black with a subtle sheen and a perfectly smooth texture.

This ebony typically grows in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. This ebony tree gained its popularity and reached its highest peak during the 16th and 19th century, when almost all of the high-quality, valuable furniture was made with this type of ebony.

Since it has such high demand and because there is risk of the trees becoming extinct, Sri Lanka and India have put ban laws on exporting Ceylon.

2. African Ebony Wood(Scientific name: Diospyros mespiliformis)

Found in the African Savannah, the mespiliformis is an evergreen tree. It is also referred to as the jackalberry because it provides jackals with fruits they feed on.

On average, this ebony is smaller in size compared to the other trees of this family because it only reaches heights of about 16 feet. Cream-colored flowers bud it during heavy rainfalls. When the fruits get ripe, they turn red and yellow.

The wood of the African ebony is termite-proof.

3. Gaboon Ebony or Gabon Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros dendo)

Gabon ebony grows on the equator on the west side of Africa, near Ghana. It can grow up to 60 feet tall with a trunk diameter of about three feet.

When looking at the wood, you can see think dark brown streaks or dark grey stripes, a rare pattern. This dark wood is often used to make sensitive and small musical parts and instruments.

The population of this ebony has halved in the past three generations, making it an endangered species.

4. Macassar Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros celebica)

This ebony species grows in Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia. It got its name from Macassar, the main part of the island, also spelled Makassar.

This species has the ability to grow up to 65 feet tall. Compared to the other trees in the ebony family, this tree has wider brown streaks in the wood grain. The color of the streaks is usually brown to black.

Japan has a tradition of importing Macassar lumber. It is commonly used for posts for houses. In addition, it is also used to make fingerboards in guitars. Since this ebony is easy to work with and carve, woodworkers are able to create beautiful furniture with it that’s highly sought-after.

5. Pale Moon Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros malabarica)

Native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, the pale moon ebony is one of the tallest trees in the genus Diospyros. It can grow up to 115 feet tall. The ripe fruits are yellow in color. The leaves and fruits that are not ripe are usually used to extract black dye used for making clothing.

6. Coromandel Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros melanoxylon)

The Coromandel ebony grows in Sri Lanka and India. The leaves are commonly used as tobacco wrappings. This tree is known to cure malaria and other similar diseases as well.

Since the Coromandel ebony is so highly known and popular, sales of it have skyrocketed in India. The leaves and the bark have medicinal properties.

7. Mauritius Ebony (Scientific name: Diospyros tessellaria)

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