STUDIES OF DIOSPYROS KAKI. I 
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE HULL BOTANICAL LABORATORY 209 
Kono YASUI 
(WITH PLATES XII AND XIII AND ELEVEN FIGURES) 
Although the Ebenaceae are recognized as a primitive family of 
the Sympetalae and possess several remarkable features, the only 
morphological investigation of them has been that of Miss HAGUE‘ on 
Diospyros virginiana. My purpose in undertaking the investiga- 
tion of D. Kaki was to answer the following questions: (1) Are 
the Ebenaceae really primitive among the Sympetalae? (2) Are 
there cytological differences among the so-called garden varieties 
of D. Kaki? (3) How are the garden varieties related to one 
another? (4) How have they been obtained ? 
Material and method 
D. Kaki is in very common cultivation in Japan and is repre- 
sented by many so-called garden varieties. The fruits of these 
varieties differ in shape, size, and flavor, and also in their seeds. 
Each variety has also its characteristic flowers, leaves, etc., to which 
horticulturists paid little attention in classification, as coimpared 
with the differences in fruits and seeds. For example, the horti- 
cultural classification recognizes two principal divisions, dependent 
upon flavor of the fruit, as follows: (1) astringent kaki (shibu-kaki), 
and (2) sweet kaki (ama-gaki). 
Each of these two divisions is divided into four or five groups, 
based upon the shape of the fruit, as follows. The astringent group 
contains (a) long, (b) round, (c) square, and (d) flat types; while 
the sweet group contains (a) gosho, (0) long, (c) round, (d) square, 
and (e) flat types. 
In her report on D. virginiana, Miss HacuE makes the following 
statement: ‘So far as the trees from which material was collected 
*Hacue, S$. M., A morphological study of Diospyros virginiana. Bor. Gaz. 
52:34-44. pls. I-3. 1911 
Botanical Gazette, vol. 60] [362 
