07 June 2016

Kaluwara and Kalumediriya



I have a few Kaluwara (Ebony - Diospyros ebenum) trees in my garden. The timber is jet black and one of the hardest. These plants are now available at many places in Sri Lanka.

I am still looking for a rare tree called Kalumediriya (Calamander or Coromandel - Diospyros quaesita). The tree seem to be very similar to Kaluwara. It is more expensive than Kaluwara and the wood is known as the most beautiful of all timber. The wood is black but has a brown stripe

There were many Kalu mediriya trees in the 18th and 19th centuries and all were cut off for furniture. Right now it is almost extinct. So far, my visits to Forestry Department (and many other places) looking for Kalumediriya saplings, have been fruitless.

The picture here is one of the ebony trees in my garden

3 comments:

Naquillity said...

you have a very nice garden. it really grew in the five years time. i wish you well on finding the Kalumediriya tree. i hate hearing it is almost extinct. hope all is well.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Finally I got a lead for a Kalumediriya plant. Most probably I will get one in next month. :)

Kirigalpoththa said...

I found it - http://www.kirigalpoththa.com/2016/08/kalumediriya.html