Family: EBENACEAE
Other common names are Chinese persimmon and kakee. A deciduous, round - headed tree growing to a height of 5 m. It has strikingly coloured autumn foliage, making it an attractive ornamental tree as well as a fruit producer. Persimmons prefer a medium loam soil, but will grow well in most ordinary soils as long as they are kept moist. It does not thrive in dry or acid soils, but will withstand a certain amount of waterlogging. The mature plant is frost hardy to -10oC.
The fruit is orange in colour, slightly larger than a tomato, and has to be fully ripe before being eaten. The unripe fruit is very astringent and contains tannic acid. It can be eaten either fresh or dried, or can be made into jams or jellies. There are different cultivars available, some being astringent varieties, others being non - astringent. Persimmons begin to bear fruit when about 3 years old (grafted trees or trees grown from cuttings).
Nutritional composition of persimmon per 100 grams of edible portion is: Water - 78.6%, Energy -77 calories, Carbohydrate - 19.7 g, Fat - 0.4 g, Protein - 0.7 g, Ash - 0.6 g, Calcium - 6 mg, Potas-sium - 174 mg, Sodium - 6 mg, Magnesium - 8 mg, Iron - 0.3 mg, Phosphorous - 26 mg, Vitamin A - 2710 I.U., Thiamin - 0.03 mg, Riboflavin - 0.02 mg, Niacin - 0.1 mg, Ascorbic acid - 11 mgs and the digestion time is 3.75 hours.
They are propagated from seed, by grafting or from cuttings. Seedling trees grow tall, and make good shade trees. The seedlings however, tend to be variable and often do not grow true to type.
Persimmons need plenty of water during the growing season, and benefit from mulching, as this helps to keep the roots moist. Minimum spacing between plants is 5 m. They are dioecious, requir-ing male and female plants, although in some cases, male and female flowers are found on the same tree. The female flowers will produce fruit if not pollinated, but these will be seedless and will take longer to ripen. Under some conditions, fruiting will be biennial.
Other species of persimmons available are Diospyros virginiana, (American persimmon) and Diospyros lotus (date plum). The fruits of the American persimmon are smaller, usually yellow, but can also be dark red or purple - red. The date plum fruits are smaller still (1 - 2 cm), and purple - black when ripe. Diospyros dignya (black sapote or chocolate pudding fruit), is an evergreen native of Central America, having a very sweet fruit with chocolate brown flesh.
Nutritional composition of the American persimmon per 100 grams of edible portion is: Water -64.4%, Energy - 127 calories, Carbohydrate - 33.5 g, Fat - 0.4 g, Protein - 0.8 g, Ash - 0.9 g, Calcium - 27 mg, Potassium - 310 mg, Sodium - 1 mg, Iron - 2.5 mg, Phosphorous - 26 mg, Ascorbic acid - 66 mgs and the digestion time is 3.75 hours.