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Diospyros virginiana

(American Persimmon)

Overview

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American Indians introduced Persimmons to the English during Sir Walter Raleigh's voyages to the New World (1584-1590). The dried fruit and pulp were relished by southeastern Indians.

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Mei Zhou Shi

Common Names in English:

American Persimmon, Common Persimmon, Date Plum, Eastern Persimmon, Persimmon, Possum Apple, White Ebony

Common Names in French:

Plaqueminier D´amérique, Plaqueminier De Virginie

Common Names in German:

Helles Ebenholz, Persimone

Common Names in Japanese:

Amerika Gaki

Common Names in Nepalese:

Haluvaabed (Haluvabed)

Common Names in Russian:

Khurma Virginskaia

Common Names in Spanish:

Caqui De Virginia, Caqui Silvestre

Common Names in unspecified:

Common Persimmon, Eastern Persimmon, Persimmon

Description

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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

ID Features: No terminal buds. Lateral buds are small and black.

Habit: A deciduous tree , pyramidal in youth becoming open with age.

Flowers: Dioecious. Blooms early spring . Not ornamentally important. • Bloom Period: April, May. • Flower Color: goldyellow-orange, red-orange, yellow

Seeds: Fruit: Only on female trees . Red orange multiple fruit . 1" to 2" long. Matures in September. Edible. Attracts wildlife.

Foliage: Summer foliage: Alternate leaf arrangement . Simple , deciduous leaves. 2" to 6" long. Ovate leaf shape. Dark, glossy green leaf color. Pubescent , lighter underside. • Fall foliage: Yellow to red fall color. Variable.

Size/Age/Growth

Growth Rate: Fast. • Size: 35' to 40' tall.

Landscaping

Landscape Uses: For attractive foliage . For fall color. Park tree . For fruit. To attract wildlife. • Liabilities: Leaf spot. Difficult to transplant. Suckers .

Habitat

Hardy to zone 4.

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 964 meters (0 to 3,163 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Prefers moist, well-drained soil. Often found growing in sandy, infertile soils. PH adaptable. Full sun .

Soil: Minimum pH: 4.5 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Diospyros mosieri Small • Diospyros virginiana var. mosieri (Small) Sarg. • Diospyros virginiana var. platycarpa Sarg. • Diospyros virginiana var. pubescens (Pursh) Dippel

Similar Species

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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

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 21, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. 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]
  2. "Diospyros". in Flora of China Vol. 15 Page 215. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 178.670 meters (586.188 feet), Standard Deviation = 164.370 based on 106 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012