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Ebenaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Diospyros virginiana

Diospyros virginiana

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known Forests, seasonally flooded bottomlands, dry ridgetops, abandoned agricultural land; at elevations up to 1,100 metres[1]

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthMedium

Requires a good deep loamy soil in sun or light shade[2]. If being grown for its fruit, the tree requires a warm, sunny, sheltered position[PFAF]. It dislikes very acid or wet and poorly drained soils[2]. The plant is found in the wild on most soil types from sands to shales and mud bottomlands[3]. Plants are somewhat tender when young[4], though dormant mature trees are hardy to about -35°c[5]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[PFAF]. A dioecious species, but the female tree can produce seedless fruits in the absence of a pollinator[6]. Good crops are generally produced every 2 years[7]. It is likely that unfertilized fruits are more astringent than fertilized fruits since this is the case with Diospyros kaki[PFAF]. Trees are slow growing. They can start producing fruit when about 10 years old, though 25 - 50 years is the optimal age[7]. A cultivated specimen seen at Kew Botanical gardens in autumn 1996 was only 1.5 metres tall and was bearing a very large crop of fruit[PFAF]. This species is occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit, there are several named varieties[8, 9]. 'Dooley' grows well near the northern limits of persimmon culture[9]. 'Geneva Red' also grows well at the northern limits of persimmon culture. The fruit is medium to large[9]. 'Meader' grows well in cooler areas, it is self-fertile[9]. Plants have a long tap root and are difficult to transplant[3, 2], it is best to plant them out in their permanent position as soon as possible and to give protection overwinter for the first year or two[PFAF]. The ssp. Diospyros virginiana platycarpa has sweet succulent flesh, it grows wild from Missouri to Arkansas[8]. Trees will usually recover well from fire damage and often resprout freely from the base of the trunk after top growth is killed by fire[7].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe[10, 2]. Stored seed requires cold-stratification and should be sown as early in the year as possible[11]. It usually germinates in 1 - 6 months at 15°c[12]. Pot up the young seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle into fairly deep pots and plant them out in early summer. Give the plants some protection from winter cold for their first winter or two outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame[2]. Layering in spring[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Diospyros+virginiana>

Pollinators

Insects, wind

References

  1. [1]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Trees of Central Texas. — Vines. R. A. · University of Texas Press · 1987 · ISBN 0-292-78958-3 ↩︎A good concise guide, it gives details of habitats and some of the uses of trees growing in Texas.
  4. [4]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  5. [5]Wonder Crops. 1987. — Natural Food Institute, ↩︎Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.
  6. [6]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  7. [7]Fire Effects Information System — http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/ ↩︎An on-line information site with comprehensive information on over 1,100 species of plant. Mainly developed to supply information on the effects of fire on plants and animals, it also contains a wealth of other information on the plants
  8. [8]Manual of the Trees of N. America. — Sargent. C. S. · Dover Publications Inc. New York. · 1965 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ · ISBN 0-486-20278-X ↩︎Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader. It can be downloaded from the internet.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  10. [10]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  12. [12]Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed') — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1991 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Corydalis spp.
  13. [13]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  14. [14]Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition — Fernald. M. L. · American Book Co.; New York · 1950 · ISBN 0442222505 ↩︎A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
  15. [15]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  16. [16]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  17. [17]Growing Unusual Fruit. — Simmons. A. E. · David & Charles; Newton Abbot. · 1972 · ISBN 0-7153-5531-7 ↩︎A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.
  18. [18]Economic Botany. — Hill. A. F. · The Maple Press · 1952 · ISBN - ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
  19. [19]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  20. [20]Native Harvests. — Kavasch. B. · Vintage Books · 1979 · ISBN 0-394-72811-4 ↩︎Another guide to the wild foods of America.
  21. [21]The Herb Book. — Lust. J. · Bantam books · 1983 · ISBN 0-553-23827-2 ↩︎Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
  22. [22]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  23. [23]Earth Medicine, Earth Food. — Weiner. M. A. · Ballantine Books · 1980 · ISBN 0-449-90589-6 ↩︎A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
  24. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎