Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Diospyros malabarica (Desr.) Kostel. (EBENACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Malabar Ebony, Indian Persimmon, Komoi, Kumun

Description

Small to medium sized evergreen, 15-35 m tall with low bushy, thick rounded crown. Leaves 7-32 cm long, oblanceolate. Dioecious, creamy white, fragrant borne on leafy shoots. Fruits globose, 5-7.5 cm across, covered with velvety hairs, brown ripening red.

Ecology

Lowland forests, often near streams.

Distribution

India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia.

Uses

Unripe fruits and leaves are used to extract tannin to dye cloth black and tanning nets and hides. Fruits are edible. Occasionally planted as ornamental.