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Notes on THE Native SeEepuEss PERstmmMon. 
(Preliminary Report.) 
By WitLiAM L. Woopsurn. 
In the vicinity of Indiana University there are a number of persim- 
mon trees (Diospyros Virginiana L.) which during the year 1908 bore 
large numbers of seedless fruits. No single tree, however, was found which 
bore only seedless berries, while four or five bore fruits nearly all of which 
contained seeds. The size of the seedless berries, their distribution on the 
tree, the time of ripening and their flavor as compared with those contain- 
ing seeds was noted. A preliminary study of the embryology of the per- 
simmon was also made. Entire ovaries were fixed in chromic-acetic acid 
and embedded in paraffin for sectioning, and later as the ovaries hardened 
ovules were similarly prepared. As later developments showed, the ma- 
terial was taken from a part of the tree which bore for the most part 
seedless berries, so that the development of the embryo was not observed. 
This led to a careful observation of the distribution of the seedless per- 
simmons on the tree. 
As the persimmons matured it was noted that the lowest branches 
of the tree from which the material was collected bore mostly seedless 
fruits, while somewhat higher were a few with seeds, and in the top of 
the tree the majority contained seeds. The seedless fruits on this tree 
were somewhat smaller than those containing seeds. Another tree younger 
than the one just mentioned bore throughout the branches berries with 
and without seeds, although more seedless below than above. On this 
latter tree there were many seedless fruits quite as large as the others. 
The following questions naturally arise: Why did one tree produce 
persimmons on the lowest branches which were practically all seedless, 
while the majority en the upper part produced seeds? Did fertilization 
depend on the transfer of pollen from some other tree bearing only stami- 
nate flowers, since all the flowers examined contained sterile stamens, but 
these were from a part of the tree which bore only seedless berries? Or 
were there perfect flowers present which produced all the fruits containing 
