The Black Ebony Tree

Here is the tree which is described in a perfect manner by its name. The generic name is derived from greek word dios which means ‘divine’, and pyros meaning ‘fruit’, referring to the excellent fruit of the genus. The specific name melanoxylon means ‘dark wood’. The Tendu (Diospyros Melanoxylon/टेंभूर्णी, टेमरू, तेंदू) is medium-sized handsome tree, which is also known as Black Ebony. Its small flowers appear from April to June on new shoots.

Tendu, though a minor forest produce (MFP) in Central India, is very underutilized tree. The most economically significant use of this species is that its leaves are used to roll bidis (an indigenous traditional cigarette, which uses the kendu leaf for rolling instead of paper). The leaves possess unrivalled qualities of flavour, colour, flexible and leathery texture, decay resistance and easy workability, which make them admirably suitable for wrapping bidis.

However, most of the harvest goes waste as the fruit has never been explored for its nutritional aspects. This lesser known fruit is edible & is delicious too! Once fully ripen, the yellow pulp is soft & has a pleasant and sweet taste.

Tendu is a seasonal fruit available mainly in summer. The fruit ripening takes almost a year. These edible fruits are largely eaten & disseminated by birds, notably hornbills. The tree produces good seed in alternate years. The fruits and powdered seeds are sold in local markets and eaten. 

The tree is deciduous or evergreen depending on its habitat. In a dry locality, it is leafless for a short time in the hot weather, regaining its leaves in May-June. In a moist locality, it is evergreen. Though the tree has small flowers, the tree is regularly visited by insects and butterflies. It is the larval host plant for the Symphaedra nais & Spindasis vulcanus butterflies.

The tree has been revered in Ayurvedic medicine. The seeds have been prescribed as a cure for mental disorders, nervous breakdowns and palpitations of the heart. The fruits have a cooling and an astringent effect. Dried flowers are reportedly useful in urinary, skin and blood diseases. The bark is astringent; its decoction is used in diarrhoea. Its regeneration is through seeds, cuttings and root suckers. Soaking seeds for about 12 hours in cold water improves germination. Stump planting has been found to be as good as direct seeding. 

Tendu is the most widely distributed and tolerant species when considered to soil requirements. It grows on poor denuded soils, hot and dry hill slopes, stony soils and also heavy clays. It demands light; it is drought and frost hardy but sensitive to water-logging. It is coppiceable & tolerance to pruning makes it a good fodder tree. The tree also pollards well, although the growth of the pollard shoots is slow. Its cultivation on field boundaries or distributed in field crops, such as oilseed and cereal crops, appears to be a feasible and attractive proposition. Its deep tap-rooting habit would minimize competition with annual crops. It gives good quality charcoal. 

The fruit tree being rich in nutritional, medicinal and processing qualities can play a very significant & vital role in the livelihood security of the rural communities through enhanced household income, employment generation and environmental protection. Tendu fruits have a great potential for commercial cultivation. In fact, plantation of Tendu tree along with other local fruits of our region like Ber, should be done in city gardens and residential areas.