North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Diospyros virginiana

Diospyros virginiana L.

american persimmon, common persimmon, possumwood

Synonym(s): Diospyros mosieri, Diospyros virginiana var. mosieri, Diospyros virginiana var. platycarpa, Diospyros virginiana var. pubescens, Diospyros virginiana var. virginiana

Diospyros virginiana (American Persimmon)

Image ID: 14150
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: DIVI5
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Diospyros virginiana
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-09-16

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: DIOSP
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Diospyros
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Diospyros
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of 500-600 species, trees and shrubs, of tropical and subtropical regions (with very few exceptions). The genus includes a variety of tropical trees called ebony in the wood trade.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION: Identification notes: Seedlings and fire sprouts are superficially very similar to Nyssa sylvatica, but can be separated in the following ways: bundle scar 1 per bud scar, narrowly crescent-shaped (vs. Nyssa with 3 distinct, circular, bundle scars arranged in a broad V pattern), leaves never with teeth (vs. Nyssa leaves sometimes with a few irregular teeth), leaves glabrate to tomentose with curly hairs (vs. glabrous or with a few straight, forward-pointing hairs), leaves with sessile to short-stipitate glands on upper surface of midrib and outer petiole, later becoming necrotic spots (vs. leaves without glands).
GENUS REFERENCES: Eckenwalder in FNA (2009); Spongberg (1977)=Z; Walln�fer in Kubitzki (2004).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: EBENAC
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Ebenaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: G�rcke 1891
FAMILY COMMON: Ebony Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of 2-6 genera and 500-600 species, trees and shrubs, distributed in tropical and subtropical (rarely warm temperate) regions.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Eckenwalder in FNA (2009); Walln�fer in Kubitzki (2004).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 35-60 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: May-June

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
			x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
				x	x

FRUITING PERIOD: Sep-Dec (and persisting).

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Eastern persimmon grows best in full sun, typically reaching a height of 35 to 60 ft. Occasionally, this species may reach a height up to 100 ft. Once its root system is established, it is tolerant of urban conditions, surviving heat, pollution and drought . Persimmons are dioecious, with each tree producing either male or female flowers, and female trees bearing fruit at maturity. Grown from seed here at NCBG, plants may be either male or female. This genus supports up to 44 lepidoptera species.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet, Well-drained
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
155	2010-0051	2010-11-16	156	View
228	2011-0056	2011-03-30	227	View
1920	1986-1706			View
2170	1986-1980			View
3726	1991-0421			View
4577	1992-0733			View
5026	1995-0145			View
5104	1995-0223			View
5607	1995-0731			View
6071	1995-1202			View
7296	2000-0031	2000-01-31		View
7423	2000-0168	2000-04-25		View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
156	HORT	2004-10-01	Gocke	View
227	HORT	2011-03-30	Ward	View
575	SOS	2015-10-20	Dakar	View
937	SOS	2017-09-19	Faucette	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
315	155	103	Liloia	2010-12-01	View
471	228	102	NCBG staff	2011-03-11	View
3040	1920	6	NCBG staff	1986-12-22	View
3741	2170	58	NCBG staff	1986-12-23	View
6033	3726	199	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6906	4577	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7445	5026	202	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
7526	5104	203	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8121	5607	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
8721	6071	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
10262	7296	174	NCBG staff	1998-11-20	View
10423	7423	174	NCBG staff	2000-04-19	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: DIVI5
USDA Common Name: Common Persimmon
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CA, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FAC		FAC		FAC	FAC		FAC	FAC	FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Diospyros virginiana
COMMON NAME: American Persimmon, Possumwood
SYNONYMY: [= FNA, GW, K, Pa, RAB, Va, W, WH3, WV; > D. virginiana var. virginiana - C, F, G, Il, Z; > D. virginiana var. pubescens (Pursh) Nuttall - Il; > D. virginiana var. platycarpa Sargent - Il; > D. virginiana - S; > D. mosieri Small - S]
PHENOLOGY: May-Jun; Sep-Dec (and persisting).
HABITAT: Dry woods, sandhills, disturbed places, floodplain and mesic forests, fencerows.
COMMENTS: CT, PA, OH, IN, IL, MO, and e. KS south to s. FL and TX. East of the Mississippi River, D. virginiana var. virginiana has leaves cuneate to rounded at the base, and glabrous or glabrescent; mostly west of the Mississippi River and perhaps eastward along the Coastal Plain, D. virginiana var. pubescens (Pursh) Nuttall has leaves subcordate, and persistently pubescent. Though these differences seem relatively trivial, they are consistent, geographically correlated, and may be worthy of varietal recognition. Other varieties have been named based on fruit size and ripening time. Persimmons are famous for their sweet and edible fruits, and infamous for the bitter-astringency of the not fully ripe fruit. The species is dioecious, the male trees appear to reach a greater size than the females. The wood is one of the heaviest and hardest in e. North America.
RANGE MAP: Diospyros virginiana.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Ebenaceae G�rcke 1891 (Ebony Family)
SUMMARY: A family of 2-6 genera and 500-600 species, trees and shrubs, distributed in tropical and subtropical (rarely warm temperate) regions.
REFERENCE: Eckenwalder in FNA (2009); Walln�fer in Kubitzki (2004).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Diospyros L. (Diospyros)
SUMMARY: A genus of 500-600 species, trees and shrubs, of tropical and subtropical regions (with very few exceptions). The genus includes a variety of tropical trees called ebony in the wood trade.
REFERENCE: Eckenwalder in FNA (2009); Spongberg (1977)=Z; Walln�fer in Kubitzki (2004).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Diospyros virginiana in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Diospyros virginiana in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Diospyros virginiana in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Diospyros virginiana in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Diospyros virginiana in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Diospyros virginiana

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 14150 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 14150 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 7682 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 14152 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)