256 TREE ANCESTORS 



The species of Diospyros and indeed the entire family to which 

 it belongs are, for the most part, confined to tropical and subtropi- 

 cal countries. The different species of persimmon or ebony are 

 widely distributed and indigenous to all of the continents. At 

 first sight, it seems singular that a tree whose near relatives are all 

 tropical should be found ranging from Florida and Texas, north- 

 ward to southern New England and to Iowa and Kansas in the 

 west. It is clear that present climatic conditions altogether fail 

 to explain such a range. Nor is it to be accounted for by the sup- 

 position that the persimmon has extended its range northward 

 from the tropics during the few thousands of years which have 

 intervened since the last glacial epoch. Like so many of our other 

 American trees, the real explanation is to be sought in the records 

 which are far older than those of post-glacial times. Fortunately 

 the persimmon has left many such records of its former distribution 

 extending back some millions of years previous to the advent of 

 man on this earth. 



Our common persimmon, scientifically known as Diospyros 

 virginiana, makes a rather handsome shade tree with its large ovate 

 glossy leaves, and can be purchased from a number of dealers. Its 

 fruits were probably the first native fruits to be described, DeSoto 

 publishing a laudatory account of them in 1557 in Portuguese, 

 de Laet in his work on Virginia, published in 1558, describes the 

 persimmon in that State. In Captain John Smith's narrative of 

 the resources of the New World there is to be found a long dis- 

 cussion of the persimmon, and he says most aptly of the fruit: 

 "If it be not ripe, it \\dll draw a man's mouth awrie wdth much 

 torment." 



The tannic acid in the immature fruits and in some apparently 

 mature fruits renders them very astringent with the result that 

 their food value has been little recognized. It is a common say- 

 ing that persimmons are not fit to eat until after frost, although 

 freezing no more improves persimmons than it does other fruits. 

 The real truth seems to be that the species includes many diverse 

 strains, some with greater and some with lesser amounts of tannin, 

 some ripening early and others not maturing until after the first 



