EBONY (∈β∈iOς), the wood of various species of trees of the genus Diospyros and natural order Ebenaceοe, found in the tropical parts of Asia and America. The best kinds are very heavy, are of a deep black, and consist of heartwood only. On account of its colour, durability, hardness, and susceptibility of polish, ebony is much used for cabinet work and inlaying, and for the manufacture of pianoforte keys, knife-handles, and turned articles. Ceylon ebony is furnished by D. Ebenum, which grows in great abundance throughout the flat country west of Trincomalee. The tree is distinguished from others by the inferior width of its trunk, and its jet-black, charred-looking bark, beneath which the wood is perfectly white until the heart is reached (See Baker, Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon, p. 293, 1855). The wood is stated by Sir J. E. Tennent to excel that obtained from D. recticulata of the Mauritius and all other varieties of ebony in the fineness and intensity of its dark colour. Although the centre of the trees alone is employed, reduced logs 1 to 3 feet in diameter can readily be procured. Much of the East Indian ebony is yielded by the species D. Melanoxyloη, a large tree 8 to 10 feet in circumference, with irregular rigid branches; oblong or oblong-lanceolate, entire leaves; white flowers, having a 5- cleft calyx; and a round, pulpy berry, containing 2-8 seeds. The bark of the tree is astringent, and mixed with pepper is used in dysentery by the natives of India. The wood of D. Ebenaster, the species called by the Singhalese Cadooberia, is black, with rich brown stripes; it is not so durable and heavy as the true ebonies. That of D. tomentosa, a native of North Bengal, is black, hard, and of great weight. D. montana, another Indian species, produces a dark ...wood, variegated with wdιite-coloured veins. I). qnoesita is the tree from which is obtained the wood known in Ceylon by the name Calamander, derived by Pridham from the Singhalee kalu-mindrie, black-flowing. Its closeness of grain, great hardness, and fine hazel-brown colour, mottled and striped with black, render it a valuable material for veneering and furniture-making. Cochin-China ebony is believed to be the wood of a species of Maba, a genus of Ebenaceoe. What is termed Jamaica or West Indian ebony and probably also the green ebony of commerce are produced by Brya Ebenus, a leguminous tree or shrub, having a trunk rarely more than 4 inches in diameter, flexible spiny branches, and orange-yellow, sweet-scented flowers. The wood is greenish-brown in colour, heavier than water, exceedingly hard, and capable of receiving a high polish.
From the book of Ezekiel (xxvii. 15) we learn that ebony was among the articles of merchandise brought to Tyre; and Herodotus states (iii. 97) that the Ethiopians every three years sent a tribute of 200 logs of it to Persia. Ebony was known to Virgil as a product of India {Geor., ii. 116), and was displayed by Pompey the Great in his Mithridatic triumph at Rome. By the ancients it was esteemed of equal value for durability with the cypress and cedar (see Pliny, Nat. Hist., xii. 9, xvi. 79). According to Solinus {Polyhistor, cap. lv. p. 353, Paris, 1621), it was employed by the kings of India for sceptres and images, also, on account of its supposed antagonism to poison, for drinking-cups. The hardness and black colour of the wood appear to have given rise to the tradition related by Pausanius, and alluded to by Southey in Thalaba, i. 22, that the ebony tree produced neither leaves nor fruit, and was never seen exposed to the sun.
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