Persimmon

Diospyros virginiana

Ebenaceae (Ebony Family)

▲▼leaves and buds

▲▼ fruit

Location on campus:  at east end of retention basin at southwest corner of National and Grand streets, near the large American Hollies

Diospyros virginica:  Persimmon

                   ·         leaves are alternate, oval, 3-6 inches long and ½ as wide with smooth or sometimes slightly serrate margins and pointed tip; leaves are dark green on upper surface, lighter green below

                   ·         stems are slender, gray-brown to red-brown, hairless or slightly pubescent

                   ·         grows 35 to 60 feet tall and about ½ as wide

                   ·         trees are dioecious and flowers not showy

                   ·         fruit (only on female trees) is a 1-1.5 inch diameter, pink-orange, glaucous globe-shaped berry with orange, fruity, edible pulp; fruit often not edible until exposed to hard freeze; seeds have been said to

                                  predict  winter  conditions by the embryo shape/pattern inside the seed:  spoon shaped = lots of snow to shovel; fork shape = mild winter with plenty to eat; knife shape = very cold winter (so cold you could cut it with a knife)

           o   some wild and selected varieties do produce fruit that is edible before freezing, but most wild ones are not edible until after a freeze

                   ·         bark is nearly black, broken into rectangular-blocky ridges; wood is very hard

                   ·         grows in full sun to full shade sites (heavier fruit in brighter locations)

                   ·         prefers moist, well-drained, fertile soils, but will grow in drier, low-fertility soils, too;

                   ·         native to Missouri