"Gaboon Ebony" redirects here.

Diospyros crassiflora, commonly known as Gaboon Ebony, is a species of lowland-rainforest tree in the family Ebenaceae

Ebenaceae

The Ebenaceae are a family of flowering plants, which includes ebony and persimmon. The family has approximately 500 species of trees and shrubs in two genera, Diospyros and Euclea. The species are mostly evergreen and native to the tropics and subtropics, with a few deciduous species native to...

 that is endemic to Western Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. It is named after the West African state of Gabon

Gabon

Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...

.

The wood this particular tree produces is believed to be the blackest of all timber-producing Diospyros

Diospyros

Diospyros is a genus of about 450–500 species of deciduous and evergreen trees. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. They are commonly known as ebony or persimmon trees...

species, and the heartwood from this tree has been in extremely high demand since ancient Egyptian times. It is hard, exceptionally durable, has very fine pores, and polishes to a high-luster. It is used in sculpture, carvings, pool cues, door knobs, tool and knife handles, gun-grips, black keys on pianos, organ-stops, guitar fingerboards and bridges, and chess pieces. It is the wood of choice for the fingerboards, tailpieces, and tuning pegs used on all orchestral stringed instruments, including violins, violas, cellos, and double basses.