PERSIMMON (Diospyros Virginian, Linn.). A slender, tall tree with handsome round head, rarely over 50 feet high; twigs angular, often hollow. Bark broken into thick, scaly plates, dark gray or brown; twigs reddish, pubescent, becom ing gray. Wood very hard, dark brown, with pale sapwood, fine-grained, tough, like hickory; not durable in soil. Buds small, pointed, reddish. Leaves alternate, simple, oval, pointed, 4 to 6 inches long, thick, shining above, paler beneath; petioles short, stout. Flowers June, after leaves, dicecious, small, yellowish green: staminate in 3-flowered cymes, scarcely opening; pistillate solitary, wide open, with imperfect stamens.
Fruit a reddish-yellow berry 1 to 12 inches in diameter, pulpy, sweet, edible when ripe; astringent when green. Preferred habitat, light, sandy soil, or moist woodlands, fence rows and abandoned fields. Dist.: Rhode Island to Florida; west to Kansas and Texas. Uses: Worthy of planting for its rich green foliage in late summer, and its graceful habit. Comes readily from seed, but is transplanted with difficulty. Fruit shows little improvement in cultivation. Wood is used in turnery, for shoe lasts, plane stocks, and shuttles.