Ebony - Ebony

Japanese: コクタン(黒檀) - コクタン

A general term for evergreen tall trees in the genus Diospyros of the Ebenaceae family that have a large, beautiful black heartwood and are used for timber. There are over a dozen species, distributed from India to Southeast Asia and tropical Africa. Of these, the Indian Ebony, found in India and Sri Lanka, has an upright trunk and branches out horizontally. The leaves are leathery, oblong, and alternate, and the corolla is white and divided into four lobes. The wood is hard and dense. The sapwood is gray with black stripes, but the heartwood is jet black and has a beautiful luster when polished, and it has long been used as a type of Chinese wood for furniture. It is said that the term "true ebony" refers only to this species. Other varieties that are distinguished by the color tone of the wood include striped ebony, blue ebony, and spotted ebony.

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

カキノキ科カキノキ属のうち，心材部が大きくて黒色で美しく，用材として利用される常緑高木の総称。十数種があり，インド〜東南アジア，アフリカ熱帯部に分布する。うちインド，スリランカ産のインドコクタンは幹は直立し，水平に枝を出す。葉は革質，長楕円形で互生し，花冠は白色で４裂する。材は堅く緻密(ちみつ)。辺材は黒条のある灰色であるが，心材は真黒色でみがけば美しい光沢を示し，唐木(とうぼく)の一つとして古くから家具に賞用されている。本黒檀は本種のみを指すともいわれる。材の色調によってほかに縞黒檀，青黒檀，斑入(ふいり)黒檀が区別される。

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