African ebony / Gabon ebony

Family: Ebenaceae Order: Ericales - Class: Magnoliopsida

Scientific name: Diospyros crassiflora Hiern

Trade name: Ebony

Also known as African Ebony or Black Ebony ( English); Ebene (Benin); Ebène (France).

Origin: Equatorial West Africa. From Nigeria to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Instrumental uses:
Guitar back and sides, fingerboards, bridges, head plates, bindings, peg heads, turnery and woodwind parts.

Tonal properties:

Gabon ebony has a glassy tap tone, it rings like a bell. It is highly projective and one can find here many of the good properties found in the harder rosewoods as deep basses and bright trebles. It will produce a beautiful master instrument.
Incredible sustain, very clear tone and projection, and a very articulate bass, very concise attack, strong voice. Between Rosewoods and Mahoganies.

Gabon ebony is among the most expensive lumbers. The small size of the tree makes it very difficult to take wood with measures for guitar backs. Due to its density and oils present it is a bit harder to work but it finishes well and polishes to a high lustre.
Dense, stiff and strong wood with an average density of dry weight of 60 lbs/ft^{3 -} 955 kg/m3.

Diospyros crassiflora grows in semi-deciduous forests. It is a gregarious species found in almost pure stands near riverbanks. The tree may reach a height of 15 m. The bole is short, up to 10 m, straight and fluted. The trunk diameter may attain 100 cm.

The sapwood is pale brown to reddish, eventually with black spots, it has a thickness of up to 15 cm. The heartwood is uniform jet-black or black brown or dark brown with black streaks, it is clearly demarcated.

CITES Status is unrestricted. Is reported on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable.