Persimmon Diospyros virginiana L

Persimmon Diospyros virginiana L.

Leaves:

	The leaves are alternate and simple.
	The blades are elliptical to oval, tapered or rounded at the base and are pointed at the top.
	The leaves are five inches long or more and about two and one half inches wide.
	The dark green, smooth leaf has smooth edges and a shiny upper surface but, paler on the lower surface.
	The petiole (leafstalk) is up to one inch long, stout, and smooth (sparsely hairy).

Stem:

	The stem is slender, brown, and smooth (hairy).
	It usually has lenticels or small holes for gas exchange.
	The twig has one bundle trace.
	Also, it is half-elliptic.

Buds:

	The buds are pretty much rounded with a dark reddish-brown color.
	They are smooth and sometimes up to 1/8 inch long.

Bark:

	The color of the bark is dark gray to black.
	At adulthood the bark is broken into square like blocks.

Flowers:

	The staminate (male flower) and pistillate (female flower) of the persimmon tree are usually borne on separate trees, often blooming after the leaves are half grown.
	A tree with only staminate flowers is a male tree so, a tree with a pistillate flower is a female.
	The staminate flowers are tubular, up to 1/2 inch long and grown in clusters of two to three.
	The pistillate flowers are solitary and 1/2 to 3/4 inch long.
	Both stamens and pistils can be found on the same tree.

Fruit:

	The fruit is fleshy and spherical with the greenish calyx (the outer protective covering of a flower or fruit) persistent at one end.
	It is a yellow-orange to orange sometimes red (rarely blue) fruit.
	Often they are up to two inches in diameter.
	The taste of the fruit is sweet only when ripe with few seeds.

Growth Form:

	The persimmon tree is medium in height, up to 50 feet tall.
	The trunk's diameter is up to one foot across.
	The crown is broad and rounded or flattened.

Distribution:

	The persimmon spreads from southern Connecticut and Long Island, New York to southern Florida.
	Inland it occurs in the middle of Pennsylvania, the southern part of Ohio and Indiana, and the middle of Illinois to southeastern Iowa; and southeastern Kansas and Oklahoma to the Valley of the Colorado River in Texas. It does not grow in the main range of the Appalachian Mountains, nor in much of the oak-hickory forest.

Discussion:

	Since the persimmon tree is often mistaken for the sour gum, the differences of the two are the tip of the persimmon is not as immediately pointed as the sour gum and the pith (center) of the persimmon is also missing the diverse separations the are found in the sour gum.
	Once in the Wabash Valley, persimmon trees were known to be nearly three feet in diameter.
	The habitats of the persimmon are dry woods, rich bottomland woods, edge of fields, and fence rows.
	The wood is hard and heavy, nearly black.
	The uses of the persimmon are golf club heads and billiard cues.
	The leaves and twigs of the persimmon are vital in the fall and winter because the white-tailed deer use them for food.
	The fruit is vital for the squirrel, fox, coyote, raccoon, opossum, and quail, also.
	The unripe fruit and inner bark of the persimmon are sometimes used to treat fever, diarrhea, and hemorrhage.
	Indelible ink can be made from the fruit.
	The flowers are used to make honey.

Location: Cumberland High School, 1496 IL Route 121, Toledo, IL 62468.

GPS Coordinates:

References:

	Mohlenbrock, Robert H. Forest Trees of Illinois. 8th ed. Springfield: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, nd.
	Adams, Dwight E. et. al. "Diospyros virginiana." n.d. 21 Oct. 2004 <http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/diovir/all.html>.
	MSN Maps and Directions. n.d. 27 Oct. 2004 <www.mapblast.com>.