Persimmon - Diospyros virginiana

Ebenaceae - Ebony Family
"A Year With the Trees" - Tree Number 24
Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana

The word Diospyros means "the fruit of the gods" in ancient Greek.

Spring

Persimmon Tree in the Spring
The green is very vibrant in the early morning spring light.
This tree lives at the Asheville Botanical Gardens.

http://www.ashevillebotanicalgardens.org/.

Persimmon Flower.  Thank you to Wikimedia commons for the use of this beautiful persimmon flower .   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Persimmon_0375.jpg

This is a female Persimmon flower.  Both female and male flowers grow on the Persimmon tree.

Summer

Persimmon leaf teas have been used for many years in China, Japan, and in Korea.  These teas have been said to have numerous health benefits.  Benefits to health include improving blood lipid values, skin health, colon health, and many other health benefits have been reported as far back at 1000 years.

Persimmon fruit growing in the summertime

Fall

Persimmon fruit growing in West Virginia in the fall.  Photo by Robert Priddy

Persimmon in the fall.

The fruit before it ripens is very astringent.  I wanted to know what that meant, astringent.  So, I tasted a a persimmon back in June when the fruit was green.  I discovered what astringent means.  It means every single drop of moisture in your mouth is sucked out.  I had the driest mouth I ever had in my whole life.  So, today, needless to say, I was a bit skeptical to try and taste this now ripe fruit.  I have heard it said, not to eat the persimmon until they start to fall from the tree.  For, then and only then, are they ripe.  Well, today, on my walk about, there were persimmons on the ground.

So, I picked one up off the ground and I felt the persimmon.  It was quite soft.  I smelled the persimmon, I did notice a sweet-like scent, that was new to me.  After touching and smelling, I decided to taste.  I bit into the soft flesh of the persimmon fruit.  I was so amazed at what I tasted.  The fruit was so sweet, like a heavenly date-like nectar.  I had to taste more.  They were all a gift from the tree.  I thanked the tree and will be sure to go back tomorrow for another taste of heaven.

May you all find a persimmon tree on just the right fall day

Winter

Persimmon Tree that lives at the Asheville Botanical Gardens

The bark of the Persimmon tree is distinctive with a dark deeply-fissured, rectangular blocks.  The Persimmon tree is native to the eastern US.

From Wikipedia:  "In philosophy, the painting of persimmons by Mu Qi (13th Century) exemplifies the progression from youth to age as a symbol of the progression from bitterness to sweetness. The persimmon when young is bitter and inedible, but as it ages it becomes sweet and beneficial to humankind. Thus, as we age, we overcome rigidity and prejudice and attain compassion and sweetness. Mu Qi's painting of six persimmons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Persimmons) is considered a masterpiece."

For the love of the trees,

Rebecca