Description
Diospyros – Persimmon – Ebony –
There are about 475 species of deciduous or evergreen trees and shrubs, in this genus. They occur in forest in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions worldwide especially in Asia and America. They are grown for their attractive habit, their bold, alternate, smooth, lance shaped to broadly ovate, simple, often glossy (sometimes heart shaped bases), which are colorful in autumn, and their fleshy, pear like, edible fruit. On previous years wood it bears bell or urn shaped, male and female flowers are usually borne on separate plants, and flowers have a rolled back petals and a leaf like calyx. In cool temperate climates, the species make attractive specimen tree, but most need long warm summers to fruit well. Timber and fruit is of economic importance.
With such a large and diverse genus it is difficult to generalize growing requirements. They are frost hardy to frost tender and generally like deep, fertile, moist but well drained loamy soil in full sun, preferably sheltered from cold, drying winds, and late frosts.
Prone to fruit rot, wood rot, anthranose, Acremonium wilt, powdery mildew, and a variety of fungal spots, and blights are common.
D. lotus – Date Plum – Small Date Plum – This spreading, deciduous tree found from Southwestern Asia to China grows 30′ feet tall and 20′ feet wide. It produces lance shaped, elliptic, or oval, glossy, dark green leaves, to 5″ long which don’t color in autumn. In mid and late summer it bears tiny, bell shaped, red tinged green flowers, followed by (on female plants) by unpalatable, spherical to ovoid yellow to purple fruit, to 3/4″ across.
Zones 6-10
