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PERSIMMON

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Originally appearing in Volume V21, Page 252 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PERSIMMON , the name given to the fruits of Diospyros virginiana in the See also:

United States. The See also:tree which bears them belongs to the See also:order Ebenaceae, is usually from 30 to 50 ft. in height, and has See also:oval entire leaves, and unisexual See also:flowers on See also:short stalks. In the male flowers, which are numerous, the stamens are sixteen in number and arranged in pairs; the See also:female flowers are solitary, with traces of stamens, and a smooth ovary with one ovule in each of the eight cells—the ovary is surmounted by four styles, which are hairy at the See also:base. The See also:fruit-stalk is very short, bearing a subglobose fruit an See also:inch or rather more in See also:diameter, of an See also:orange-yellow See also:colour, and with a sweetish astringent pulp. It is surrounded at the base by the persistent calyx-lobes, which increase in See also:size as the fruit ripens. The astringency renders the fruit somewhat unpalatable, but after it has been subjected to the See also:action of See also:frost, or has become partially rotted or " bletted " like a See also:medlar, its flavour is improved. The fruit is eaten in See also:great quantities in the See also:southern states of See also:America, and is also fermented with hops, See also:corn-See also:meal or See also:wheat-See also:bran into a sort of See also:beer or made into See also:brandy. The See also:wood is heavy, strong and very See also:close-grained and used in turnery. The tree is very See also:common in the See also:South See also:Atlantic and Gulf states, and attains its largest size in the See also:basin of the See also:Mississippi. It was brought to See also:England before 1629 and is cultivated, but rarely if ever ripens its fruit. It is easily raised from See also:seed and can also be propagated from stolons, which are often produced in great quantity. The See also:Chinese and See also:Japanese cultivate another See also:species, the Diospyros Kaki, of which there exist numerous See also:ill-defined varieties.

The fruits are larger than those of the See also:

American See also:kind, variable in shape, but have similar properties. An astringent fluid, known as shibu, See also:rich ,in See also:tannin, is expressed from the See also:green fruit and used in various See also:industries. The tree is See also:hardy in the south of England and in the Channel Islands.

End of Article: PERSIMMON

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