Black Persimmon 



787 



or sometimes pollen-bearing anthers; the staminate flowers have the corolla con- 

 stricted above the middle and usually 16 stamens with short filaments and narrow 

 anthers. The fruit is an orange-colored, reddish yellow or purplish drupe, varying 

 from oblong to broader than long, 2 to 4 cm. in diameter, very pulpy, seated in 

 the leathery 4-lobed calyx; it is astringent when green, sweet when ripe. 



The hard strong wood is dark brown; its specific gravity is about 0.79. It is 

 a favorite wood for the manufacture of shoe-lasts. 



II. BLACK PERSIMMON 



GENUS BRAYODENDRON SMALL 



Species Brayodendron texantun (Scheele) Small 



Diospyros texana Scheele 



DENSELY branched tree or shrub growing in moist, rich soil of river 

 valleys in Texas and adjacent Mexico, reaching a height of 16 m., 

 with a trunk diameter up to 6 dm.; it is also called Mexican per- 

 simmon and Chapote. 

 The bark is thin and smooth, light reddish gray, the outer layers peeling off. 

 The twigs are round, stiff, without terminal buds, reddish hairy, becoming smooth 



Fig. 718. — Black Persimmon. 



and finally brown. The tardily deciduous leaves are thick and leathery, oblanceo- 

 late or obovate, i to 5 cm. long, blunt or shallowly notched at the apex, wedge- 

 shaped at the base, entire-margined, dark green and shining above, paler and 

 hairy and prominently veined beneath, without a stalk. The flowers, appearing 

 from March to May, are dioecious, in clusters of 2 or 3, or solitary, on branchlets 



