EBENACEAE 



Common Persimmon 

 Diospyros virginiana L, 



HABIT. A small to medium-sized tree 25-50 feet high and 

 1 foot in diameter (max. 130 by 3 feet); broad, rounded crown. 



LEAVES. Alternate; simple; deciduous; 3-6 inches long; 

 oblong-ovate to oval; leathery; glabrous; entire; dark green 

 and lustrous above, paler and sometimes hairy below. 



FLOWERS. Regular; dioecious; !/^-% inch long; corolla 

 urn-shaped or tubular; yellow-green; appearing with leaves. 



FRUIT. A globose, orange to purple, berry l-lVz inches 

 long; subtended by 4 woody, persistent calyx-lobes; astringent 

 till frost, then edible. Seed: 1-8, compressed, oblong, rounded. 



TWIGS. Slender; gray-brown; hairy or glabrous. Winter 

 buds: terminal absent; lateral ovate, acute, Vq inch long, red, 

 2-scaled. 



BARK. Thick; hard; dark gray; in distinctive square, scaly 

 blocks. 



WOOD. Moderately important; heavy; hard; strong; ring- 

 porous; used for shuttles, golf clubs, billiard cues, brushes, etc. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Rather intolerant; varied sites. 



GENERAL. This tropical genus contains over 200 species 

 including the ebony of commerce. Diospyros texana Scheele is 

 a small Texas tree. 



STYRACACEAE 



Carolina Silverbell 



Halesia Carolina L. 



HABIT. A small handsome tree; rounded crown. 



LEAVES. Alternate; simple; deciduous; 3-4 inches long; 

 oblong-ovate; finely toothed; yellow-green and glabrous above, 

 pale and hairy below. 



FLOWERS. Regular; perfect; showy; corolla white, bell- 

 shaped, Yi inch long. 



FRUIT. A dry, oblong, 4-winged drupe 1 Yi inches long. 



GENERAL. Twigs slender; terminal buds absent; bark 

 thin, scaly; moist sites; stump sprouts vigorously. Three other 

 species form trees; the related mountain species H. monticola 

 Sarg. with flowers and fruit 2 inches long is included on the 

 map; H. parviflora Michx. with small flowers and club-shaped 

 fruits extends from Georgia and Mississippi into Florida; and 

 H. diptera Ellis with a 2-winged fruit extends from South Carolina 

 to Oklahoma and south. 



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