BLACK EBONY | a million dollars a tree

Black ebony is the most valuable tree in the world! Just one Black ebony tree could be worth a million dollars if you could find it or grow it. Donate BlackEbony AMillionDollarsATree ASingleBlackEbonyTreeCouldBeWorthAMillionDollarsIfYouCouldGrowItOrFindIt CalculateTheValueOfABlack EbonyTree BlackEbonyisoneofthemostvaluableandexpensivetypesofwoodintheworld;prizedforitsdark heartwood.Traditionally,Blackwoodhasbeenusedforcharcoal,nativecarvings,combs,needles,cupsand knifehandles.Becauseofitshighdensity,textureandwaxiness,itisidealfortheproductionofwoodwind musicalinstrumentslikeclarinetsandisasuperiorwoodforholdingthemetalfittingsofguitarfret boardsandprizedforthemakingoffinefurniture. Becauseoftherelativerarityofhigh-qualitypiecesBlackWoodcommands,ahighprice.Sawnlogs currentlysellatUS$9,000percubicmeterwhileprocessedtimberforclarinetsfetchesuptoUS$13,000 percubicmeter.(SebastianM.M.Chuwa-ConservationoftheMpingoTree(DalbergiamelanoxylonGuill& Perr.)inTanzania).Toputintoperspective,high-qualityveneergradewhiteoaksawlogssellonaverage forUS$120percubicmeter.(MJKMarketing).Duetothehighvalueofthiswood,manyspeciesofEbonyare nowextinct,onthevergeofextinction,endangeredorvulnerable. BlackEbonyhasbeenawoodthatfortwo,orthree,orfourhundredyears,we’vegoneinto countries,andwe’veusedituntilit’sallgone.Literally.Thenwemoveintoanothercountry,andwe taketheirBlackEbonytillit’sallgone."-BobTaylor(TaylorGuitars) SomeBlackEbonyspecieshavebeenplacedontheendangeredspecieslistpublishedbyIUCN-TheIUCNRedListofThreatened Species. GaboonEbonyislistedintheCITESAppendixIIIandisontheIUCNRedList.GabonEbony islistedasendangeredduetoextensiveloggingthepast100years.Thistreeisnowclassifiedas commerciallyextinctandendangered.BlackWoodisalsotheheaviestwoodintheworldweighingmorethan70 poundspercubicfood.BalsaWoodontheotherhandisoneofthelightestwoodsweighinglessthan1pound percubicfoot.Interestingly,atree’sgrowthrateseemstoberelatedtoweight.Astheheaviestwood, BlackEbonyisalsotheslowestgrowingatjustonehalfofaninchperyear,whileBalsacangrow10feet ormoreperyear. MunEbonyisoneofahandfulofEbonytreespeciesthatarenativetoAsia:more specifically,it’snativetoVietnamandLaos.Duetoexploitationanddrasticreductionsinnatural populations,exportofthisspeciesiscurrentlybanned.ItisontheIUCNRedListascriticallyendangered duetoareductionofover80%inthepastthreegenerations,causedbyadeclineinitsnaturalrange,and overharvesting. MakassarEbonywasconsideredareplacementforAfricanBlackEbony,oftennamedassuch tokeepupwithdemandandfetchahigherprice.ItisontheIUCNRedListduetoapopulationreductionof over50%inthepastthreegenerations. AfricanBlackEbonyhasbeenclassifiedasvulnerableduetounsustainableharvesting.If thecurrenttrendcontinues,industryexpertspredictthatthistreemaybeonthepathtoextinctionwithin 15years.(american.edu)(AfricanTimberBan-UtaSaoshiro)(African Blackwood-Mpingo) WildDwarfEbonyisalreadyextinct.ArtificialCultivationhasbeenunderwayinaneffortto reintroduceaclonedspeciesbackintothewild. BlackEbonyGrowthHabit Typically,BlackEbonydoesnotgrowinthickstandsorunderaclosedforestcoverbutprefersamore solitaryexistence,oftentakingholdinrockyandinfertilesoilswhereotherplantscannotsurvive.This characteristicseemstoderivefromitsinabilitytocompetesuccessfullywithotherplants.Duringits earlyyearsthetreedevelopsanextensivesystemofrootstosustainitslifeduringthelongmonthsofthe Africandryseason.Growthofthetreeisincremental;ittakes70-200yearstoattainausablesizeand maturetreesneverexceedaheightof9m.(about30feet)and0.3m.(1foot)indiameter.Someprize specimenshavebeenreportedwitha1m.(3feet)diameteranda5m.(16feet)clearbole,butthesewere raretreasuresofaoncevirginsavannah. BlackEbonyisamuch-branched,many-stemmed,spinyshrubofdrywoodlandandsavannahthatdropsits leavesinthedryseason.Theleavesarepinnatewith3-5leaflets,flowersarewhiteandsweetlyscented, andthefruitsareabluntpinnatepodwith1-4seeds,whichareinshortsupply.Floweringtakesplacein theseconddryseason,coveringmostofthebrancheswhenthetreeisleafless,muchlikeatemperatefruit tree.Seedpodsmatureabout7monthsafterflowering.Thetrunkorbarkispalegreytopalebrownandthe boleisoftendeeplyflutedbutusuallyunder5feetlongtothefirstmajorbranch,under11inchesin diameterandoftenfinelyscoredinthewild.Itcommonlyhasmorethanonestem.Largetreesmayhavelow buttresses,especiallyonthebranchesandbolesofyoungertrees.Oldertreesareheavilybranchedwitha well-developedcrown. GradingBlackEbonyWood NotallBlackWoodisthesame;thedarkerthewood,themorevaluableitis.Thedarkestwoodisreferred toas“pure”andistherarestBlackWoodofall.ThemostexpensiveandprizedBlackWoodonlycomesfrom BlackEbonytreesthatare150yearsoldormore.Almostallthemarketabletreeswereharvestedlongago andthefewthatareleftareindangerofbeingpoached.Thewoodfromyoungtreesislightbrownandis lessvaluable,usuallycutwhenthetreeisjust50yearsold. BonsaiBlackEbonyTree TheremaybeasolutionfordisappearingBlackEbony.Asithappens,thistreemakesanexcellentbonsai tree.Theygrowsmallandcompact,typicallyattainingaheightofjust3or4feet.Annualreductionswill keepthetreesmallandsquat.Pruningwillalsoincreasetrunkwidth,whichisdesirableforfuturewood harvesting.Itcanbegrownindoorsoragreenhouseiftheoutdoorclimateislessthansuitable.Afew thousandpeoplegrowingBonsaiBlackEbonywouldkeepthesevaluabletreesfromextinction,whichscientists predictwillbeinlessthan15yearsfromnow. AdoptATree&Save BlackEbonyFromExtinction ThefollowingcommentswerecollectedfromanationalwoodproductsdiscussionforumusingBlackEbony. CommentfromcontributorA: SomeoftheguitarcompaniesaresayingthatRosewoodandBlackEbonyaregettingtooscarcetouseas fingerboardmaterialandhaveswitchedtoasyntheticforsame.Wouldn'titbepossibletogroweither/orin theUS?Istherenotaclimateamenableinourcountrysomewhere?CommercialplantationsintheUSwould ensuresupplyandovercometheimportregulations. MoreBlackTrees BlackCherry|BlackLocust|BlackWalnut Thebesttimetoplantblackebonywas20yearsago.Thesecondbesttimeisnow! 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