FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Distinctive, blocky bark. Leaves are downy-hairy beneath and twigs are often twinged purple. Pith of twigs is solid or sometimes chambered. Fruits astringent/bitter, but edible usually after first frost.
Synonym(s): Diospyros mosieri
Description: Small to medium deciduous tree, growing to 16 m.
Leaves: Alternate, ovate to elliptic leaves to 15 cm long, often with black splotches. Leaves are downy hairy beneath.
Flowers/Fruit: Male (yellow) and female (green) 4-petaled flowers occur on separate trees; petals are thick and waxy-looking. Male flowers grow in clusters of 2 to 3 and female flowers occur singly. Persimmon fruit is an orange berry, 2 to 4 cm wide. Flowers May/June; fruits September into late fall.
Habit and Range: Forested wetlands, wet fields, dry woodlands. Most common in the Piedmont; less common in the Mountains and Coastal Plain.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
Nyssa sylvatica (blackgum) can have similar leaves, but Diospyros virginiana (common persimmon) are never toothed, and twigs show one linear bundle scar when leaf is pulled away from stem, whereas N. sylvatica has 3 short bundle scars. Diospyros virginiana also has velvety purple twigs and leaf petioles.
Click here to view Nyssa sylvatica.
Link to side-by-side comparisons page
