Ebenopsis ebano

Ebenopsis ebano is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the coastal plain of southern Texas in the United States and eastern Mexico. It is commonly known as Texas ebony or ebano (in Spanish).

Description

Texas ebony is a small, evergreen tree that reaches a height of 7.6-9.1 m (25-30 ft) and a crown width of 1.8-4.6 m (5.9-15.1 ft).

Uses

Texas ebony is cultivated in xeriscaping for its dense foliage and fragrant flowers. It is also used in bonsai.

Habitat and range

The range of E. ebano stretches from Laredo and Corpus Christi, Texas south through the states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Veracruz, Campeche, and Yucatan in Mexico. It can be found in the Tamaulipan matorral, Tamaulipan mezquital, Veracruz dry forests, and Yucatan dry forests ecoregions. Its habitat extends from sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft), averages 20 to 27 degC (68 to 81 degF) in temperature, and receives a mean of 900 mm (35 in) of annual rainfall.

Ecology

E. ebano is a host plant for the caterpillars of the coyote cloudywing (Achalarus toxeus) and Sphingicampa blanchardi. The seedpods host the bean weevils Stator beali and S. limbatus. Despite Texas ebony’s native range being overlapped with the one of the former, S. limbatus only eats on it in places where it is an ornamental plant and not native. E. ebano is also a preferred host of the epiphyte Bailey’s ball moss (Tillandsia baileyi).