Trees of New York State 325 



EBENACEAE 



Diospyros virginiana L. 



Persimmon 



Habit — A small tree 40-50 feet in height with a trunk diameter of 6-12 

 inches, under optimum conditions occasionally 100 feet tall wdth a trunk 

 2-3 feet in tlianicter Trunk slender, tapering', c-ontinuous into the crowTi, 

 short or in forest grown specimens often free of branches for 60-70 feet. 

 Crown cylindrical, with slender, spreading or drooping branches, becom- 

 ing broad and round-topped with age. 



Leaves — Alternate, ovate or oval, 3-7 inches long, acuminate at the apex, 

 rounded or subcordate at the base, entire, at maturity thick, coriaceous, 

 dark green and lustrous above, paler and pubescent beneath, borne on 

 stout, pubescent petioles %-l inch in length. 



Flowers — Appearing in May and June on the shoots of the year when the 

 leaves are partly gTo\\*n, yello^\"ish green, dioecious, the staminate in 

 2-3-flowered, pubescent, pedunculate cymes, the pistillate solitary and 

 borne on short, recurved pedicels. Calyx deeply 4-lobed the lobes ovate, 

 acute, accrescent under the fruit. Corolla tubular or somewhat urceolate, 

 with 4 short, reflexed lobes at the top. Stamens 16 in the staminate 

 flower, inserted in 2 sets, with short filaments and sagittate anthers; 

 stamens 8 in the fertile flower, generally abortive. Pistil consisting of a 

 conical ovary which is pilose toward the top, surmounted by 4 slender 

 styles bearing 2-lobed stigmas. 



Fruit — A depressed-globose or somewhat obovate-obloug, glaucous, pale 

 orange-colored and often red-checked berry, 1-1^ inches in diameter, 

 subtended by the four, accrescent calyx-lobes, borne on a short, thick, 

 woody stalk. Seeds 1-8, oblong, compressed, embedded in the juicy, 

 astringent flesh which becomes sweet and yellowish brown as the fruit 

 ripens in the late fall. 



Winter characters — Twigs slender, astringent, pubescent or glabrous, 

 orange-lenticellate, ^aj-ish or light brown becoming darker the second 

 year. Terminal bud absent. Lateral buds ovate, acute, about % of an 

 inch long, covered by 2 dark reddish brown or purplish scales. Mature 

 bark thick, dark reddish brown to dark gray or nearly black, divided by 

 deep fissures into small blocks which are scaly at the surface. 



Habitat — Dry sandy soils in open woods, or on the deep moist soils of river 

 bottoms, especially in the South. 



Range — Connecticut westward to southern Iowa, south to Florida and Texas. 

 Eestricted in New York State to the vicinity of New York City. Zone A. 



Uses — Wood hard, heavj', fine-textured, dark brown or nearly black with 

 thick, paler sapwood. Used in the manufacture of shoe lasts, shuttles, 

 sporting and athletic goods, etc. The fruit which is edible but very 

 variable in its astringent qualities, is to be found in the markets of our 

 southern cities in season. 



