Genus Diospyros, L. (Persimmon)

Leaves - simple; alternate, edge entire. Outline - long oval or long egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - pointed or rounded. Leaf - three to five inches long, thickish; dark and smooth, usually shining, above; below dull, with ribs curved and irregular and minutely downy. On the upper surface the ribs are quite indistinct, except as the lea is held toward the light when they appear almost transparent. In the same position the left is seen also to be edged with a slight delicate fringe (appearing in the dried leaf like a line of yellow light). Bark - of trunk dark and rough. Flowers - greenish-yellow and small, at the base of the leaf-stems. June. Fruit - about one inch in diameter, rounded, nearly stemless, orange-red when ripe, with about eight large flat seeds. After frost it is of very pleasant flavor, before, exceedingly “puckery.” Found - from Connecticut southward to Florida and westward to Southeastern Iowa. General Information - A tree twenty to sixty feet high; sometimes, at the South, more than one hundred feet high. The wood is hard and close-grained; the bark tonic and astringent. From two Greek words meaning fruit of Jove.

Downloads