Bark is grey or black and distinctly blocky with orange in the valleys between the blocks. Diospyros virginiana Figure 1. Diospyros virginiana. NameThatPlant.net currently features 3812 plants and 23,753 images. This is a reference to the delicious golden-orange fruits that often hang on the tree after the leaves drop in autumn. https://www.britannica.com/plant/persimmon. Its leaves are smaller and it has black fruits where Diospyros virginianahas larger leaves and orange to purple fruits. The fruit is produces is juice and pinkish-orange and can be very sweet if eaten when overripe (Rick 2018). Diospyros virginiana is a medium-sized deciduous tree that will greatly vary in size depending on the environment. Leaves alternate, simple, 5-13 cm long and 2-5 cm wide, oval to elliptic, rounded at base, entire or irregularly serrate, glossy dark green above and paler below. It is one of the most widely-adapted of trees, growing naturally in bottomland swamps, along stream banks, in upland forests, in … CROP DESCRIPTION: The American persimmon is a semi-wild fruit that is indigenous to eastern North America, with its native range extending from Florida to Connecticut. Patrick Breen, They like to grow on low wetlands but can also grow on drier lands (Central Park Conservancy 2018). The edges of the leaves are smooth (UVM 2018). On mature trees, the trunk bark is blackish gray and deeply furrowed into small flat-topped scales that are shaped like irregular squares or rectangles. This species has a shrubby growth form. The American persimmon is found natively as far north as New York and western Connecticut, as far south as Flordia, and as far west as Okalahoma (Central Park Conservancy 2018; Tree Trail 2017). Fruit (berry) globose, 2.5-5 cm, blue-green when young and yellowish to pale orange at maturity, subtended by 4 persistent calyx lobes, edible. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). Privacy policy. Metcalf Tree to 17 m, dbh 0.5 m. Branchlets dark brown to blackish brown, glabrous. The fruits are considered juicy berries, have flattened seeds, grow in clusters, and have an enlarge calyx (Encyclopedia Britannica). Its mature height can be 60 feet, with branches sp… It was also described by early botanists, such as William. Dioecious --male and female trees --- although both sexes sometimes present on the same tree, white to greenish-white, blueberry-shaped flower, fragrant. In mid March 2020, two of the small Persimmons have leafed out, but the … https://thefruitnut.com/american-persimmon/. Cooperative Extension, which staffs local offices in all 100 counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. 6 Fig. The fruit are quite juicy and sweet when ripe, but nearly impossible to joy when unripe due to the bitterness (Rick 2018). Hardy to USDA Zone 4      Native range from Connecticut to Florida and west to Kansas and Texas. Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Ebenales>Ebenaceae>Diospyros virginiana L. Persimmon is a common and widespread medium-sized tree in North Carolina. Leaves alternate, simple, 5-13 cm long and 2-5 cm wide, oval to elliptic, rounded at base, entire or irregularly serrate, glossy dark green above and paler below. Persimmon Common - Diospyros virginiana; Fig. The American persimmon has a Japanese relative and likely came to the Americas early on in evolution or through the Bering strait. In the Southern Hemisphere, shoots grow in september and stop growing in July; leaves grow in september and fall off in May and June; anthesis of flowers begins in October; fruits are produced from November to April; and the trunk expands from May to June (Scheepers 2010). is used for its fruit and wood. The wood from old trees is very hard and has been used to make golf clubs. Its bark has a distinctive alligator bark pattern (very dark and blocky), its buds are triangular and dark brown and its leaves, petioles and twigs are covered with flattened, matted hairs. They do require, however, lots of sun (UConn 2018). ... Notes: Leaves turn yellow to red fall color, uses are park tree, its fruit and to attract wildlife. It usually grows to a mature height between 30' and 50', but might remain shrub-like and 15' tall in poor dry soil, or grow up to 100' in fertile moist soil. The flowers of the American persimmon begin to bloom in May and stay in bloom until June (UVM 2018). 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