Diospyrus virginiana, the Divine Fruit

 

A sadly spindly ‘mystery tree’ grows on a steep slope in our back fern garden.  I first noticed it six or seven years ago.  Its top was broken off in a winter snowstorm a while ago, and its odd growth pattern, plain looking leaves and immature bark left me clueless about its identify.  My best guess was that perhaps it was a paw paw tree, since the leaves are similar, and we have a stand of those nearby.

But something about the tree’s structure didn’t add up.  It has some cascading branches growing at odd angles that makes you wonder whether they are perhaps damaged or broken.  I didn’t recognize this tree’s silhouette.  Every time I thought I could identify the tree, and checked a field guide, I was wrong.

The tree sprouted in an otherwise crowded spot and reaches for sunlight.  More than once, I’ve considered just pruning it out.  But my love for trees, and stubborn curiosity always prevailed.  I felt confident that we’d eventually identify it, and then decide whether to remove it, or allow it to grow.  And finally, this October, I noticed small orange fruits hanging from its branches like dull Christmas balls and recognized our mystery tree as a native persimmon.

 

The Divine Fruit

Diospyrus viginiana, the American persimmon, belongs to a genus of hundreds of species, distributed world-wide, of such value that the genus name means ‘fruit of the gods’ or ‘divine fruit’ in Greek.  Members of this genus are valued for their wood, leaves, medicinal qualities and for their delicious fruit.  The genus belongs to the Ebenaceae, or Ebony family, and is known for its dark, nearly black heartwood.  Some species are grown primarily for their wood and others for their fruit.

Our own native persimmon grows from Connecticut to Florida along the East Coast, and as far west as Eastern Texas.  Fossils date it back to the time of the mastodons and other large mammals in North America.  Recent research demonstrates that persimmon seeds sprout faster and more reliably after passing through a modern elephant’s intestines.  Fossils, more than 5 million years old, prove that prehistoric megafauna helped spread persimmon seeds, which grew and fruited, as far as Nebraska, Alaska and Greenland.  

The deciduous leaves are alternate, elliptical, and about 3”- 6” long with good yellow autumn color.  They  have smooth edges and frequently develop spots during the summer.  Autumn leaf color varies from tree to tree, and may be yellow, orange or red.  The leaves may all fall before the fruit, which makes female trees easy to spot in November, when the fruit finally ripen.

 

 

Bark on mature trees is nearly black and grows in thick, blocky chunks that look almost like reptilian scales.  To locate male trees, watch for the distinctive bark, and then examine the leaves.  The dark bark echoes the very dark wood at the center of older trees.  Although persimmon wood is highly desirable for its beauty and strength, our native trees aren’t raised for wood commercially, because it may take a century to grow a tree large enough to harvest.

Diospyrus roots grow deep and wide.  The tap root makes this tree difficult to transplant, unless it is container grown.  This is an excellent tree for erosion control and on banks. Persimmons will grow in occasionally wet soil, like in the edge of a rain garden.  Keep newly planted trees well-watered for their first year until the roots grow deeply enough to keep the tree hydrated.  Water a tree well the day before taking stem cuttings for propagation.

Each persimmon tree is either male or female.  Male flowers grow in small clusters. The larger female flowers appear singly in late spring to early summer.  Flowers are small, cream-colored, and have four petals, much like a blueberry flower.  They may be pollinated by insects or by the wind.  Both male and female trees must grow in proximity to each other for the female to produce fruit.  The orange fruits develop sweetness as they ripen, or after a frost.

 

 

Propagation

New trees may be grown from saved seeds, with or without the assistance of an elephant.  But the seedling trees may be different in some ways from the mother tree.  Now that I’ve harvested a few persimmons, I’ve saved a dozen seeds to grow on.  The seeds are large, oval and dark brown or black.  Their shape reminds me of pumpkin seeds, but they are a bit longer.  Each fruit will contain between one and eight seeds, which can be planted outside fresh, or given two to three months of cold stratification in the refrigerator before planting.

 

 

Seedling trees need to be four to nine years old to flower and set fruit, and trees grown from cuttings need to be about four years old to fruit.  Since I noticed persimmons hanging from the ‘mystery tree’ in our back yard this fall, I’ve begun to see them throughout our area.

Native Persimmon Culture

American persimmon prefers warmer climates, and today the largest trees, to 115,’ grow in the Mississippi River basin.  Trees generally grow 30’ to 80’ tall through most of its range in Zones 5-9.  Trees will grow on a variety of soil from sand to clay.  They will grow whether the soil is sweet, acidic or neutral so long as there is good drainage.

Give persimmon trees at least six hours of sun per day, and space to grow.  They are stoloniferous and may grow shrubby over time.  Like an American hazel, a single tree can grow to a small patch of trunks growing from a single root system, creeping into a larger clump with the passing years.

The American persimmon produces smaller fruit than the Asian persimmons found in most grocery stores.  Fruits are round, wrinkled, and measure about an inch in diameter.  The larger, more attractive fruit from Asian D. kaki usually grows on a smaller tree.  Several excellent varieties, hardy to at least Zone 7, are available, including D. kaki ‘Fuyu,’ D. ‘Hachiya,’ and D. ‘Chocolate.’  Asian persimmons are attractive ‘back yard’ fruit trees, available from various online nurseries, and are relatively easy to grow.

 

 

Eating and Using Persimmons

American persimmons may be eaten raw, or the pulp can be cooked in a variety of dishes.  Use persimmon pulp in drinks, sweetbreads, puddings, stuffing, cakes, and sauces.  Leaves may be dried and used to make tea.  Seeds can be rendered into oil or dried, ground, and used in a coffee-like beverage. The fruit and leaves are high in Vitamin C.  American persimmon named cultivars D. ‘Meader,’ ‘C-100,’ and D. ‘Prok’ are preferred varieties for their abundant fruit, beauty and ease to grow.

Native Americans cultivated persimmon trees, which they called pasiminan or pessamin in the Algonquin language, and used persimmon fruit raw, dried, cooked, and brewed or fermented in various beverages.  They used the fruit, leaves, outer and inner bark of the persimmon tree medicinally.  They also harvested and used persimmon wood.

 

 

Native persimmon trees still grow on Jamestown Island today, near the loop road, where you may see visitors stop to collect the fallen fruit.  Early settlers were introduced to persimmons, found them useful, and sent trees back to England prior to 1629.

Supporting Wildlife

A persimmon tree not only produces edible fruit, but it is also a tremendous support for local wildlife.  A wide variety of animals eat persimmons, including box turtles, small mammals, and a most birds.  Deer may browse leaves and twigs and also eat the fruit.  Pollinators visit persimmon flowers in spring.  It is a larval host plant for several species of moths. Persimmon trees are particularly valuable for carbon sequestration because of their dense wood, large size, and deep root systems.

American persimmon may not be the most beautiful tree in our yard, but it has high value for wildlife.  The only time it is ‘showy’ is in autumn as the fruit ripens and leaves turn bright yellow.  The persimmon it is a very useful tree and has played an important role in our local ecosystem for millions of years.  It is important in indigenous American culture and is a good addition to a wildlife garden.  If you are lucky enough to find a persimmon tree with ripening fruit, then you might agree that those pulpy treats taste ‘divine’ on a crisp, autumn day.

 

 

All photos by Elizabeth McCoy

Elizabeth McCoy is a JCCW Master Gardener Tree Steward and a Williamsburg Botanical Garden and Freedom Park Arboretum volunteer.

 

To Learn More:

Bennett, Chris. Southeast Foraging 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Angelica to Wild Plums. Timber Press. 2015.

Dirr, Michael A. Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs.  Timber Press. 2016.

Dirr, Michael A. and Charles W. Heuser, Jr. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation From Seed to Tissue Culture. Varsity Press, Incorporated. 2006.

Dove, Tony and Ginger Woolridge. Essential Native trees and Shrubs for the Eastern United States.  Bunker Hill Studio Books. 2018.

Elias, Thomas S., and Peter A. Dykeman. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide. Union Square & Co. 1990.

Frey, Darrell.  The Food Forest Handbook: Design and Manage a Home-Scale Perennial Polyculture Garden.  New Society Publishers. 2017.

Hemenway, Toby.  Gaia’s Garden:  A Guide to Home-Scaled Permaculture.  Chelsea Green Publishing. 2009. (2^nd Edition)

Kirkman, Katherine L., Claud L. Brown and Donald J. Leopold. Native Trees of the Southeast: An Identification Guide. Timber Press. 2007.

Monger, Karen. Adventures in Edible Plant Foraging:  Finding, Identifying, Harvesting and Preparing Native and invasive Wild Plants.  Skyhorse Publishing.  2015.

Peterson, Roger Tory. Edible Wild Plants: Eastern/Central North America (Peterson Field Guides). Mariner Books.  1999.