Tree of the Week: Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)

Persimmon fruits are ripening this time of year in northwest Louisiana. These are orange, round fruits that should only be eaten when perfectly ripe. Any attempt to eat an unripe persimmon fruit will have bad results: a bitter, chalky, astringent taste will pervade your entire mouth. You know these fruits are ripe when the orange flesh is soft and wrinkly. Such wrinkled fruits are mostly found on the ground, and they taste like candy. Look around and you'll find one.

There are two persimmon trees in the arboretum, planted next to each other. Read more about the pair here.

The female persimmon tree is loaded with fruits. This is a very tall tree with most of its fruits out of reach. Low hanging fruits can be found, but unripe fruits are difficult to strip off the branch without damaging the tree: you will need to snip unripe fruits off the branch and give them plenty of time to ripen.

This unripe fruit is turning orange.

These orange fruits are still ripening. They are firm to the touch and securely attached to the branch. They might look tasty, but they aren't.

These fruits, found in the leaf litter, are ready to eat. Another indicator of ripeness is the ease with which the fruit detaches from its four-lobed cap.

The flesh is very sweet and has a distinct taste. Unfortunately, the seeds are large and numerous, making it impossible to remain elegant while enjoying the fruit. Even-numbered amounts of seeds were encountered from the arboretum's fruit, six or eight per fruit.

The seeds are dark brown, glossy, oval-shaped and measure more than a half inch in length.

Tree of the Week: Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)

Our shade tree of the week is the persimmon (Diospyros virginiana). Enough can't be said about the pair of persimmons in the arboretum collection. They are doing outstanding work, providing much needed shade along one of the main sidewalks running parallel to Hamilton Hall. They provide habitat for birds and other interesting creatures. And this time of the year the female of the species is developing fruits to be appreciated in autumn.

Persimmons do very well in northern Louisiana. The two individuals in the arboretum were both collected from the wild. Jim Robbins collected the male tree from Cypress Lake in Bossier Parish, and it was planted in the ground in the spring of 1985. Ed Leuck collected the female tree from DeSoto Parish, at a lignite mine, and planted it in the spring of 1987. Today, the two trees appear to be in competition with each other over sunlight, with the male tree winning. The male tree is noticeably larger, and more erect, while the female leans out from under the shade of the male tree.

At noon, the pair of persimmons help to shade this long stretch of sidewalk.

The male persimmon (right) is older, bigger, and stands straight-up like the lamp post. The female (left) leans away from the male tree, toward the sun.

Persimmons have dark green leaves.

Underside of persimmon leaves: foliage blocking the sun

In July, the persimmon fruits aren't even close to being ripe. Do NOT try to eat these fruits! It would be unpleasant. Click here for a picture of ripening fruits. It's best to wait until the fruit wrinkles.

The male and female trees working in concert to block the sun.

It's summer time. The insects are loud and doing interesting things.

The newly emerged cicada clings to its old exoskeleton, which is stuck to the bark of the persimmon trunk.

Mature persimmons have heavily fissured, blocky bark.

For more pictures of the arboretum's persimmon trees click here.

For more information about this species consult the following:
Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours (LSU AgCenter)
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
United States Department of Agriculture

Diospyros virginiana