Louisiana Plant ID | Diospyros virginiana (persimmon)

FAMILY: EBENACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: common persimmon

LEAVES: alternate, simple, deciduous; elliptic to ovate, 4-6" long by 2-3” broad, tips often short acuminate; lower surface pale green, pubescent, with numerous veins that turn black in fall

FLOWER: functionally unisexual, plants functionally dioecious; flowers of both sexes inconspicuous, greenish, the male flowers few in axillary clusters, female flowers solitary in leaf axils

FRUIT: berry, orange to yellow, 1.5-2" in diameter, with numerous flattened seeds; ripening in late fall

TWIGS: zigzagging, pubescent, buds dark brown to black and triangular; year-old twigs chambered

BARK: blackish, with small blocky squares resembling alligator hide

FORM: small to medium tree, 30-50' tall and 12" dbh

HABITAT: wide range of habitats, abundant in bottomland hardwoods in area subject to prolonged flooding, but also mesic loamy forests and dry-mesic sandy loam pine forests, upland clay soils

WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative (FAC): Occurs in wetlands or non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region

RANGE: eastern U.S. (north to IL, IN, OH) [USGS Range MAP]

USES: valuable wood, used for golf club heads, furniture, shoe lasts and other small specialty wood items, wedges, billiard cues, flooring; edible fruit

WILDLIFE: excellent soft mast eaten by many wildlife species; low-value deer browse

Best Recognition Features:

alligator hide bark
dark brown-black triangular buds
pubescent leaf undersurface and twigs
on younger plants leaf size tends to becomes smaller from tips to base of shoots

School of Renewable Natural Reources	Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours Dr. Chris S. Reid, Project Director \| creid4@lsu.edu LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources LSU AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA © 2003-2020 website problems or broken links: mbowen@agcenter.lsu.edu page revised: 15-Jan-2020 4:11 PM msb	LSU AgCenter
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