Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Japanese Persimmon, Kaki, Oriental Persimmon, Sharon Fruit
Description
Family Ebenaceae
Trees
or erect
shrubs
, occasionally with spine-tipped branchlets
. Leaves alternate, rarely opposite, entire; stipules absent. Flowers actinomorphic
, usually unisexual
, dioecious, or polygamous, rarely bisexual
. Male flowers often in cymes, sometimes in clusters
or solitary; pistil rudimentary
or absent. Female flowers often solitary, axillary
, imperfect or without stamens. Calyx 3--7-lobed, persistent
and often becoming enlarged in female or bisexual flowers; lobes
abutting or overlapping in bud. Corolla 3--7-lobed; lobes convolute, rarely overlapping or abutting. Stamens hypogynous or at bottom
of corolla, 2--4 X
as many as corolla lobes, rarely as many as corolla lobes and alternate with them; filaments
free
or united
in pairs. Ovary superior, 2--16-locular; ovules 1 or 2 per locule. Styles 2--8, free or basally united; stigma entire or 2-lobed. Fruit a ± fleshy
berry, with few to several seeds. Seeds usually oblong
; endosperm sometimes ruminate
; hilum
small.
Three genera and ca.
500 species: mostly in the tropics; one genus and 60 species (43 endemic) in China.[1]
Genus Diospyros
Trees
or shrubs
, deciduous or evergreen
. Terminal
buds absent. Branchlet
tips
sometimes forming a spine. Leaves alternate, occasionally minutely translucent
dotted
or with gland
pits. Flowers dioecious or polygamous. Male flowers in axillary
cymes, usually on basal part of current
year's branchlets, deciduous soon after anthesis
; stamens 4 to numerous
, often paired
and forming 2 whorls; ovary rudimentary
. Female flowers usually solitary, axillary; staminodes 1--16 or absent; stigma often 2-cleft. Calyx usually 3--5(--7) -lobed, sometimes truncate
. Corolla urn-shaped, campanulate
, or tubular
, 3--5(--7) -lobed, deciduous. Berries
fleshy
to somewhat leathery, usually with an enlarged persistent
calyx. Seeds 1--10(or more), often laterally compressed
.
About 485 species: pantropical
and extending into temperate regions
; 60 species in China, most abundant in SE and SW China, several incompletely known and of uncertain status. [2]
Physical Description
Habit: Deciduous.
Flowers: Bloom Period: March, April, May. • Flower Color: pale yellow, yellow
Size/Age/Growth
Size: 20-30' tall.
Biology
Growth
Culture: Space 20-30' apart.
Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8
Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .
Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High
Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
()
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Spermatopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Asteridae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Primulanae
()
- R. Dahlgren Ex Reveal, 1996
- Order:
Ericales
()
- Dumortier, 1829
- Suborder:
Ebenineae
()
- Family:
Ebenaceae
()
- Gürke, in H.G.A. Engler & K.A.E. Prantl, 1891, nom. cons.
- ebony
- Subfamily:
Ebenoideae
()
- Genus:
Diospyros
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1753
- Diospyros
- Specific epithet:
kaki
- Linnaeus f.
- Cultivar:
Sheng
- Botanical name: - Diospyros kaki 'Sheng' Linnaeus f.
- Cultivar:
Sheng
- Specific epithet:
kaki
- Linnaeus f.
- Genus:
Diospyros
(
- Subfamily:
Ebenoideae
(
- Family:
Ebenaceae
(
- Suborder:
Ebenineae
(
- Order:
Ericales
(
- Superorder:
Primulanae
(
- Subclass:
Asteridae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Similar Species
Members of the genus Diospyros
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 58 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
D. angulata (Bois D') · D. australis (Black-Plum) · D. blancoi (Mabolo) · D. boutoniana (Bois D') · D. celebica (Indonesian Ebony) · D. chrysophyllos (Bois D') · D. crassiflora (Ebony) · D. decandra (Gold Apple) · D. digyna (Axle Grease Plant) · D. ebenum (Indian Ebony) · D. egrettarum (Bois D') · D. hemiteles (Bois D') · D. hillebrandii (Elama) · D. kaki (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Hachiya' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Fuyu' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Ichikikei Jiro' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Jiro' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Kostata' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Maekawa Jiro' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Matsumoto Wase Fuyu' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Saijo' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Sheng' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Tamopan' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. kaki 'Tanenashi' (Japanese Persimmon) · D. leucomelas (Bois D') · D. lotus (Date Plum) · D. lycioides (Karroo Bluebush) · D. macassar (Macassar Ebony) · D. malabarica (Indian Persimmon) · D. marmorata (Andaman Marblewood) · D. melanida (Bois D') · D. mun (Ebony) · D. neraudii (Bois D') · D. nitida (Black Persimmon) · D. nodosa (Bois D') · D. oleifera (Oil Persimmon) · D. pterocalyx (Bois D') · D. revaughanii (Bois D') · D. revoluta (Black Apple) · D. rhombifolia (Diamond-Leaf Persimmon) · D. rumphii (Streaked Ebony) · D. sandwicensis (Lama) · D. sinensis (Chinese Persimmon) · D. sintenisii (Chinese Persimmon) · D. tessellaria (Black Ebony) · D. texana (Texas Persimmon) · D. tomentosa (Nepal Ebony) · D. vaccinioides (Small Persimmon) · D. virginiana (American Persimmon) · D. virginiana 'Campbell Nc10' (American Persimmon) · D. virginiana 'John Rick' (American Persimmon) · D. virginiana 'Meader' (American Persimmon) · D. virginiana 'Peiper' (American Persimmon) · D. virginiana 'Prok' (American Persimmon) · D. virginiana 'Ruby' (American Persimmon) · D. virginiana 'Szukis' (American Persimmon) · D. virginiana 'Yates' (American Persimmon)
More Info
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Further Reading
- Li Shu-gang (as Lee Shu-kang). 1987. Ebenaceae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 60(1): 84-154.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 11, 2012.
Identifiers
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 959968
Footnotes
- Shugang Li, Michael G. Gilbert & Frank White "Ebenaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 15 Page 215. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
- "Diospyros". in Flora of China Vol. 15 Page 215. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
