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The Ebenaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to order Ericales. It includes ebony and persimmon among about 768〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Ebenaceae — The Plant List )〕 species of trees and shrubs. The family is distributed across the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world. The family is most diverse in the rainforests of Malesia, India, tropical Africa and tropical America.〔(【引用サイトリンク】author=José Manuel Sánchez de Lorenzo-Cáceres )〕 Many species are valued for their wood, particularly ebony, for fruit, and as ornamental plants. ==Biology== The fruits contain tannins, a plant defense against herbivory, so they are often avoided by animals when unripe. The ripe fruits of many species are a food source for diverse animal taxa. The foliage is consumed by insects. The plants may have a strong scent. Some species have aromatic wood. They are important and conspicuous trees in many of their native ecosystems, such as lowland dry forests of the former Maui Nui in Hawaii, Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests, Kathiarbar-Gir dry deciduous forests, Louisiade Archipelago rain forests, Madagascar lowland forests, Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests, New Guinea mangroves, and South Western Ghats montane rain forests. Ebony is a dense black wood taken from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', including ''Diospyros ebenum'' (Ceylon ebony, Indian ebony), ''Diospyros crassiflora'' (West African ebony, Benin ebony), and ''Diospyros celebica'' (Makassar ebony). ''Diospyros tesselaria'' (Mauritius ebony) was heavily exploited by the Dutch in the 17th century. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ebenaceae」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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