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STUDIES OF DIOSPYROS KAKI. I 

 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE HULL BOTANICAL LABORATORY 209 



Kono Yasui 

 (WITH PLATES XII AND XIII AND ELEVEN FIGURES) 



Although the Ebenaceae are recognized as a primitive family of 

 the Sympetalae and possess several remarkable features, the only 

 morphological investigation of them has been that of Miss Hague 1 on 

 Diospyros virginiana. My purpose in undertaking the investiga- 

 tion of D. Kaki was to answer the following questions: (1) Are 

 the Ebenaceae really primitive among the Sympetalae ? (2) Are 

 there cytological differences among the so-called garden varieties 

 of D. Kaki? (3) How are the garden varieties related to one 

 another ? (4) How have they been obtained ? 



Material and method 



D. Kaki is in very common cultivation in Japan and is repre- 

 sented by many so-called garden varieties. The fruits of these 

 varieties differ in shape, size, and flavor, and also in their seeds. 

 Each variety has also its characteristic flowers, leaves, etc., to which 

 horticulturists paid little attention in classification, as compared 

 with the differences in fruits and seeds. For example, the horti- 

 cultural classification recognizes two principal divisions, dependent 

 upon flavor of the fruit , as follows : ( 1 ) astringent kaki (shibu-kaki) , 

 and (2) sweet kaki (ama-gaki). 



Each of these two divisions is divided into four or five groups, 

 based upon the shape of the fruit, as follows. The astringent group 

 contains (a) long, (b) round, (r) square, and (d) flat types; while 

 the sweet group contains (a) gosho, (b) long, (c) round, (d) square, 

 and (e) flat types. 



In her report on D. virginiana, Miss Hague makes the following 

 statement: "So far as the trees from which material was collected 



1 Hague, S. M., A morphological study of Diospyros virginiana. Bot. Gaz. 

 cm 52:34-44. pis. 1-3. ion. 



- Botanical Gazette, vol. 60] [362 



