American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) in the Persimmons Database

The tree prefers light, sandy, well-drained soil, but will grow in rich, southern, bottom lands. It can be grown in northern Ohio only with the greatest of care, and in southern Ohio its fruit is never edible until after frost.
The tree is greatly inclined to vary in the character and quality of its fruit, in size this varies from that of a small cherry to a small apple. Some trees in the south produce fruit that is delicious without the action of the frost, while adjoining trees produce fruit that never becomes edible.
The fruit is high in vitamin C. The unripe fruit is extremely astringent. The ripe fruit may be eaten raw, cooked or dried. Molasses can be made from the fruit pulp. A tea can be made from the leaves and the roasted seed is used as a coffee substitute. Other popular uses include desserts such as persimmon pie, persimmon pudding, or persimmon candy.
The fruit is also fermented with hops, cornmeal or wheat bran into a sort of beer or made into brandy. The wood is heavy, strong and very close-grained and used in woodturning.
Fruit: A juicy berry containing one to eight seeds, crowned with the remnants of the style and seated in the enlarged calyx; depressed-globular, pale orange color, often red-cheeked; with slight bloom, turning yellowish brown after freezing. Flesh astringent while green, sweet and luscious when ripe.
Be careful not to plant a persimmon tree where the fruit will fall on a walkway, patio or driveway as they can make a sticky mess!

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The seeds of the persimmon are large, brown and flat.

The fruit is delicious and is edible when its outer covering turns a slightly brownish orange. There is nothing worse than biting into an unripe fruit, it turns your mouth inside out with its bitterness. The ripe fruit is great as a pie filling or as a custard. It can also be made into flavorful bread.

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A wonderful tree native to most of the South, even down into southern Florida, up into southern PA and New Jersey and southern IL, IN, and OH, most of MO, southeast KS and eastern OK & TX. It is slow growing, about 3/4 to 1 foot/year and lives around 100 years. Develops a strong, deep taproot, so it is hard to transplant; move as a small tree in spring. Likes acid soil of about pH 6 to 7 and well-drained or can grow well along water courses where the wet soil is aerated. The female trees bear the delicious orange berry; edible in September to November.

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