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Persimmon

G

GaryR

Nordic Pine
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Location
Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Name
Gary
We are fortunate to have a large native persimmon tree in our back yard. Diospyros virginiana. It is the double trunked tree on the right, standing in front of a black walnut.
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Persimmon is in the same genus as ebony and the only ebony native to North America. Quite a few leaves are down already which allows you to see the small fruits. There are a lot of them!


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The fruits are edible when they are completely ripe and soft. Before that they are quite bitter. Collecting them is a challenge because if you get them off the tree they aren't ripe and if you wait for them to fall they are so soft they get squished. Especially when they fall from 20 m. I collected a few last year and added the pulp to some pancakes. A fun autumn treat, rather like pumpkin in flavor. The deer like them, too. A family of three come out every afternoon to eat the fruits that have fallen.

I find the bark attractive:

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Being an ebony, the wood is hard and dense. A classic use is for wooden golf club heads. The pith is dark reddish brown. I was given a small piece years ago and used it to make some gauge blocks. You can see the difference between the heartwood and the sapwood.

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Wow, so they get that big? I didn't know. I have one in my garden, but that tree is just 3 meters high. The trick to picking the fruits is to wait until the first frost has gotten to them. After that they will taste a lot better and be easy to get off the tree. Don't wait too long after that first frost though, because they will become all mushy (and to my taste way too sweet) in a few days.
 
HdV said:
Wow, so they get that big? I didn't know. I have one in my garden, but that tree is just 3 meters high. The trick to picking the fruits is to wait until the first frost has gotten to them. After that they will taste a lot better and be easy to get off the tree. Don't wait too long after that first frost though, because they will become all mushy (and to my taste way too sweet) in a few days.
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You may have a different species? Or a variety selected for smaller size or larger fruit?

I've never heard of persimmon soap! I'll have to look around for some.
 
HdV said:
Wow, so they get that big? I didn't know. I have one in my garden, but that tree is just 3 meters high. The trick to picking the fruits is to wait until the first frost has gotten to them. After that they will taste a lot better and be easy to get off the tree. Don't wait too long after that first frost though, because they will become all mushy (and to my taste way too sweet) in a few days.
Click to expand...
Are they like sloes which are best after the first frost - but where you can equally pick them beforehand and then freeze them to simulate the frost?
 
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