Diospyros virginiana

Diospyros virginiana
Botanical details of buds, flowers and fruit
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ebenaceae
Genus:	Diospyros
Species:	D. virginiana
Binomial name
Diospyros virginiana L.
Distribution map of the American persimmon
Synonyms[3]
Diospyros mosieri S.F.Blake

Diospyros virginiana is a persimmon species commonly called the American persimmon,^[3] common persimmon,^[4] eastern persimmon, simmon, possumwood, possum apples,^[5] or sugar plum.^[6] It ranges from southern Connecticut to Florida, and west to Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa. The tree grows in the wild but has been cultivated for its fruit and wood since prehistoric times by Native Americans.

Diospyros virginiana grows to 20 m (66 ft), in well-drained soil. The tree is typically dioecious, so one must have both male and female plants to obtain fruit. Most cultivars are parthenocarpic (setting seedless fruit without pollination). The fragrant flowers are pollinated by insects and wind. Fruiting typically begins when the tree is about 6 years old.

The fruit is round or oval and usually orange-yellow, sometimes bluish, and from 2 to 6 cm (3⁄4 to 2+1⁄4 in) in diameter. Both the tree and the fruit are referred to as persimmons, with the latter appearing in desserts and cuisine in the U.S. South and Midwest.

Commercial varieties include the very productive Early Golden, the productive John Rick, Miller, Woolbright and the Ennis, a seedless variety. Another nickname of the American persimmon, 'date-plum' also refers to a persimmon species found in South Asia and South Europe, Diospyros lotus. Today, persimmons are also grown on small farms as a heritage crop.^[7]