ebony
This tree species is considered endangered.
Ebony is tight and expensive tonewood which is popular for fretboards. Besides guitars, it is also used for woodwind instruments. It is extremely heavy and produces harder sounds than rosewood.
Appraisal
Ebony is probably one of the more expensive, if not popular and loved tonewoods out there to make fretboards and saddles out of. This hardwood is extremely hard, with a beautiful, black color that feels sweet to the eye. Its bright in the high tones, but a little flat in the low tones, which might be a problem, but thankfully it is mostly used in the fretboards and saddles of a guitar. You will most often encounter this wood in higher end guitars, since it tends to be on the expensive side.