Persimmon - bark
bark of the persimmon is blocky
Persimmon - leaves
leaves are simple with smooth edges and black dots
Persimmon - flower
urn-shaped flowers on the persimmon
Persimmon - developing fruit
leaf like bracts with fruit developing below
Persimmon - fruit
persimmon tree covered in fruit as the season changes from fall to winter

Plant Characteristics:

  • Tree: small to medium tree up to 60 ft tall, short slender trunk, round-topped crown of crooked branches
  • Bark: gray-brown with orange in the fissures when young, darkening with maturity and breaking into square scaly plates, resembling to charcoal briquettes
  • Twigs: slender, light brown to gray and slightly fuzzy; leaf scar has one crescent shaped bundle scar
  • Buds: dark red to black, triangular, and pressed close to the stem
  • Leaves: alternate; simple; oblong to oval, 3 – 5 in long, smooth edges, shiny green above, pale beneath; often covered in black spots on the leaves
  • Fall Foliage: orange, red, and reddish-purple
  • Flowers: male and female on separate trees; white to green-white, ½ in long; males grouped in threes, females single and urn shaped; appear in late spring
  • Fruit type: plum-like berry, 1 to 2 in, green before ripening, turning orange to black when ripe

Additional Details:

  • Immature fruit contains tannin and is strongly astringent.
  • Fruit is not edible until exposed to frost or consistent low temperatures. 
  • Mature fruit has the flavor and texture of dates. 
  • Fruit provides food for wildlife, and is eaten by wild turkey, bobwhite, raccoon, opossum, skunk, fox and deer.
  • Wood is used for weaving shuttles, billiard cues, flooring and veneer.
  • Often sprouts from its roots and can be found standing among thickets of smaller trees.
  • Native Americans often dried persimmons like prunes and used them to make a tasty bread.

A member of the Ebony Family, also known as Possumwood, Eastern Persimmon and Date Plum. The genus name Diospyros, from the Greek, means “fruit of the god Zeus.”

References:
Brown, R. and M. Brown. 1972. Woody Plants of Maryland. Port City Press, Baltimore, MD.
Foster, S. and J. Duke. 1990. A field guide to medicinal plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Grimm, W. C. and J. Kartesz. 2002. The Illustrated Book of Trees. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg, PA.
Harris, J. and M. Woolf Harris. 1994. Plant Identification Terminology: An illustrated Glossary. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, UT.
Peterson, L. 1977. A field guide to edible wild plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Virginia Department of Forestry. 2022. Common Native Trees of Virginia – Tree Identification Guide.
The Wildflower Center Staff. 2023. Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The University of Texas at Austin.