EBENACEAE - - Ebony Family

Diospyros virginiana Linnaeus — American Persimmon

American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) - Persimmon is definitely one of our more common trees in Georgia. You probably will not find it in great numbers, like Oaks (Quercus), Ashes (Fraxinus) and Sweetgum (Liquidambar), but as an occasional tree. This tree seems equally happy in a great variety of habitats, from the mountains to the valleys, wet to dry, various soil types, etc. you find Persimmon. The Persimmon tree is dioecious, meaning the male and female flowers are on separate trees. The male and female flowers are very similar, but I believe the female flowers are slightly larger and have a large, wide spreading, 4-lobed calyx with wide, blunt lobes at the base. Male flowers have calyx lobes that are narrow and appressed to the corolla. The fruit is delicious when ripe, but very bitter if eaten too soon. You must wait until the fruit is soft, skin rather translucent and wrinkled. If these conditions are met, you don't have to wait until the first frost!

Habitat:

Dry woods, sandhills, disturbed places, floodplain and mesic forests, fencerows.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Diospyros virginiana (American Persimmon)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Diospyros virginiana (American Persimmon)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.