Wooden African Ebony Tree – Small Hand-Painted Savanna Tree Toy

A Tree of Two Kinds

The African ebony is evergreen, keeping its dense, shiny leaves all year round, and in good conditions it can grow up to 25 metres tall with a trunk five metres around. It also has a surprise: male and female flowers grow on separate trees, so only the "female" trees bear fruit.

Those fruits start yellow and turn purple as they ripen, with soft, sweet pulp inside. They are an important food for many savanna animals – and for people too, who eat them fresh, dried or in traditional drinks.

Also available as a Large African Ebony Tree. Build a savanna with the Small Acacia Tree and Small Baobab Tree, and add the Realistic Safari Animals.

Height × Width × Depth: 23.5 × 14.0 × 1.8 cm (9.3 × 5.5 × 0.7 in)

All pieces are shaped from solid ash wood and hand-sanded to a smooth finish with no sharp edges. The crown is hand-painted with water-based paints, the trunk and base keep the natural grain of the ash, and every piece is finished with olive oil, which protects the wood against moisture. No plastics, no solvent-based finishes, no MDF, no veneers. Made in conformity with the European toy safety standard EN 71. Small variations in colour and grain are a natural part of handmade production, not defects.

A green refuge on the savanna.

Among dry grass and flat-topped acacias, the evergreen African ebony is where animals find shade and food. Its layered green crown invites children to talk about why some trees stay green all year and others don't, and to imagine which animals would come to rest or eat beneath it.

Inspired by Montessori and Waldorf principles, the ebony tree is simple in form and real in its details, with no batteries, sounds or buttons. It is light, steady and easy to move from one scene to the next.

Solid ash is dense and hard-wearing, and every tree is sanded and painted by hand in our workshop in Romania. Tree by tree, the savanna grows with the child and lasts long enough to be passed on.