''Diospyros blancoi'', (

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Diospyros discolor''), commonly known as velvet apple, velvet persimmon, kamagong, or mabolo tree, is a tree of the genus ''

Diospyros ''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timb ...

'' of

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

trees and

persimmon The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese and Japanese kaki persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki''. In 2022, China produced 77% of the world's p ...

s. It produces edible fruit with a fine, velvety, reddish-brown fur-like covering. The fruit has a soft, creamy, pink flesh, with a taste and aroma comparable to peaches. It is widely distributed and native to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, but it is also native to eastern and southern

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It has also been introduced to other parts of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, the

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and other tropical regions.

Cultivation

It is a

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

tropical tree that grows well in a diversity of soil, from sea level to above sea level. Seed trees are normally planted from each other; this one can be planted from from each other. It needs a good distribution of rainfall through the year. Trees that were planted by seeds could take 6 or 7 years to give out fruit, but trees that were propagated by cuttings produce fruit in 3 or 4 years. It is a very productive tree. The fact that fruits vary greatly – in shape, color, hairiness and taste – suggests that there is a great deal of genetic variation in the plant. Seedless cultivars exist, and are highly favored since in the normal varieties the large seeds occupy a considerable volume of the fruit. File:Velvet apple (Diospyros discolor).jpg, Velvet apple (Diospyros discolor) File:Velvet apple (sliced).jpg, Velvet apple (sliced) File:Velvet apple (Diospyros discolor) seeds.jpg, Velvet apple (Diospyros discolor) seeds Image:Mabolo (Diospyros blancoi) fruit.jpg, Mabolo fruit

Timber

Like that of other trees in Dyospiros, which includes

, Kamagong timber is extremely dense and hard and is famous for its dark color. The wood is generally used for house construction which include flooring, post, doors, and windows, among others. Finished products from kamagong wood, such as fine furniture and decoratives can be exported, provided that they are properly documented and approved by the Customs authorities. Kamagong is also popular for

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

training implements such as

bokken A ''bokken'' (, , 'wood', and ''ken'', '(double-edged) sword') or ''bokutō'' (, , 'wood', and ''tō'', '(single-edged) sword') is a Japanese wooden sword used for training in kenjutsu. It is usually the size and shape of a ''katana'', but is so ...

and eskrima sticks.

Secondary metabolites

The leaves of velvet apple trees have been shown to contain

isoarborinol methyl ether Isoarborinol is a triterpenoid ubiquitously produced by angiosperms and is thus considered a biomarker for higher plants. Though no isoarborinol-producing microbe has been identified, isoarborinol is also considered a possible biomarker for ma ...

(also called cylindrin) and fatty esters of α- and β-amyrin. Both isoarborinol methyl ether and the amyrin mixture demonstrated antimicrobial activity against ''Escherichia coli'', ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'', ''Candida albicans'', ''Staphylococcus aureus'' and ''Trichophyton mentagrophytes''. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties have also been shown for the isolated amyrin mixture.

Governance

It is an endangered tree species and protected by Philippine law – it is illegal to export kamagong timber from the country without special permission from the Bureau of Forestry,

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR; ) is the Executive Departments of the Philippines, executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the cou ...

References

External links