The Persimmon —Diospyros Virgimana 
ITOR some reason, the Persimmon fruits 
are as famous among trees in the folk¬ 
lore tales of the South as is the opossum 
among animals. They are both extraordi¬ 
nary forms, being the sole representatives 
of their families in Eastern America and 
occupying a very similar geographical range. 
Even their scientific names are not unlike, 
the Persimmon being known technically 
as Diospyros Virginiana while the opossum 
IS Didelphys Virginiana. 
The Persimmon is essentially a Southern 
tree, being most abundant in the states 
along the South Atlantic and the Gulf 
coasts, extending as far north as Southern 
Ohio. It has been reported as being found 
in Southern New England, but there seems 
reason for believing that some of these trees 
were not indigenous. The fruit is the most 
interesting feature of the tree, being of good 
size and a favorite article of food after its 
astringency has been removed by the action 
of frost. The form and character of the 
fruits are shown upon the plate. These 
develop from flowers that blossom in June, 
there being pollen-bearing and seed-bearing 
flowers upon different branches of the same 
tree or upon different trees. These blossoms 
are a pale yellow color and of the general 
forms illustrated on the plate, the smaller 
pollen-bearing being shown above the larger 
seed-bearing ones. 
One of the earliest references to the Persim¬ 
mon is found in “The Historieof Travaile into 
Virginia Brittania,” which reads as follows: 
“They have a plumb which they call 
pessemmins, like to a medler, in England, 
but of a deeper tawnie cullour; they grow 
on a most high tree. When they are not fully 
ripe, they are harsh and choakie, and furre in 
a man’s mouth like allam, howbeit, being taken 
fully ripe, yt is a reasonable pleasant fruict, 
somewhat lushious. I have seene our people 
put them into their baked and sodden pud¬ 
dings; there be whose tast allows them to be 
as pretious as the English apricock.” 
There is great variation in the size and 
quality of fruits from different trees and it 
would seem feasible greatly to improve 
the edible characters of the fruit from trees 
planted by men by a little attention to the 
selection of seed or by budding or grafting. 
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