SCIENTIFIC NAME: Diospyros virginiana

COMMON NAME: common persimmon

LEAVES: Entire, oval, with up to a 2" long petiole. Alternate and widest below the middle (ovate). Tapers to the tip. Black axillary buds. 3 - 5" long.

FRUIT: A large berry that many people like to eat once it is ripe. Fruit borne on female trees. Yellow/orange when ripe. Needs frost on fruit before they are edible.

FLOWERS: Yellow before the tree has leaves in the spring.

BARK: Has rectangular or square plates that looks like an alligator back. Very distinctive feature.

OTHER: Prominent, grey lenticels on young twigs. Dioecious. Tap-rooted so it is hard to transplant. Can grow on dry or moist sites. Yellow to orange fall color. Native with black buds (Ebenaceae family). Grows 50' to 60' tall. Leaves will get a black fungus. Found on high/dry sites. Its Asian relative Diospyros kakii is a small tree that has fruit the size of a grape fruit.