PERSIMMON 



(Diospyros Virginiana) 



PERSIMMON belongs to the ebony family, and the family has con- 

 tributed to the civilization of the human race since very early times. 

 Some of the oldest furniture in existence, that which was found hidden 

 in the ruins of ancient Egypt, is ebony, and there is evidence among the 

 old records in the land of the Nile that the Egyptians made voyages 

 southward through the Red sea and brought back cargoes of ebony from 

 Punt, a region in eastern Africa. The name ebony is believed to be 

 derived from a Hebrew word, probably brought to Palestine by some of 

 Solomon's captains who traded along the south coast of Asia or the east 

 coast of Africa about the time of the building of the first temple. The 

 botanical name for the genus (diospyros) is made up of two words 

 meaning "Jupiter's wheat" supposed to be a reference to the value of 

 persimmons as food. The name, however, is not as old as the Hebrew 

 word, nor is the Hebrew as old as the references to ebony in the records 

 of Egypt. A piece of the old furniture not less than 4,000 years old 

 is still in existence. It probably matches in age the cedar of Lebanon 

 coffins in the oldest Egyptian tombs. 



The ebony family consists of five genera, one of which is per- 

 simmon (diospyros). This genus consists of 160 species, only two of 

 them in the United States. Thus the persimmon trees of this country 

 are a very small part of the family to which they belong, but they are a 

 highly respectable part of it. The word persimmon is of Indian origin, 

 and was used by the tribes near the Atlantic coast. The original spelling 

 was "pessimin," and that was probably about the pronunciation given 

 it by the aborigines. 



It has never been called by many names. It is known as date 

 plum in New Jersey and Tennessee, and as possumwood in Florida. 

 The avidity with which opossums feed on the fruit is responsible for the 

 name. 



The range of persimmon extends from Connecticut to Florida, 

 and westward to Iowa, Missouri, and Texas. It reaches its largest size 

 in the South. It is of vigorous growth, spreading by means of seeds, and 

 also by roots. The latter is the most common method where the ground 

 is open. Such situations as old, abandoned fields invite the spread of 

 persimmons. Roots ramify under the ground, and sprouts spring up, 

 often producing thickets of an acre or more. Trees do not generally reach 

 large size if they grow in that way, but their crowded condition does not 

 make them fruitless as can be attested to by many a boy who penetrates 



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