Diospyros virginiana

Object Details

Description: The common name of Diospyros virginiana, persimmon, comes from the Powhatan language and means “a dry fruit.” The persimmon's “dry fruit” quality is most immediately noticed in the unripe, astringent fruit of the tree. While the green fruit and inner bark of the tree were once used to treat fever, diarrhea, and hemorrhage, persimmons are most enjoyable and useful for pies, jellies, and general eating once they have turned orange and been through a frost.; The persimmon tree is also notable for its bark. For the novice naturalist, identifying leafless trees in the winter can seem challenging. The persimmon, with its deeply grooved alligator bark and very straight trunk, is an excellent entry point for tree identification.; Threatened in New York and of Special Concern in Connecticut.
Hardiness: -30 - 30 F
Attracts: Butterflies; Luna Moth
Bloom Time: May to June
Ethnobotanical Uses: Wood is used for textile shuttles and golf clubs due to hard, smooth, and even texture. Fruits are used in puddings, cookies, cakes, custards, and sherbet. Seeds have been dried, roasted, and ground as a coffee substitute.
Medicinal / Pharmaceutical: Unripe fruit and inner bark have been used to treat fever, diarrhea, and hemorrhage.
Provenance: Uncertain

Life Form: Deciduous tree
Average Height: 35-60'
Bark Characteristics: Young: brown, gray, or reddish Mature: Dark gray, thick, and blocky
Bloom Characteristics: Male flowers grow in groups of 1-3, female flowers grow solitarily. Flowers are bell-shaped with 4 thick, backward curling lobes.
Dioecious: Yes. Some perfect flowers.
Fall Color: Yellow, red
Foliage Characteristics: Simple, alternate, serrated, and oval. Glossy and dark green above, lighter beneath. 4-8"
Fruit Characteristics: Round, 1-3", fleshy, and orange. Contains 1-8 flat, black seeds. Very astringent when green, edible when ripe in mid to late fall. May persist on tree in winter.
Structure: Rounded oval

Common Name: Persimmon; American Date Plum; American Persimmon; American Ebony; Possum Wood; White Ebony; Bara-bara; Boa-wood; Butterwood; Common Persimmon; Virginian Date Plum
Group: [vascular plants]
Class: Equisetopsida
Subclass: Magnoliidae
Superorder: Asteranae
Order: Ericales
Family: Ebenaceae
Genus: Diospyros
Species: virginiana

Smithsonian Gardens

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ax7c580c3a0-7622-45c5-8299-a4993867ede8