A ‘Verie Good Fruit’

Unless you grew up gathering American persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) or were introduced to them by someone who did, your persimmon association may be with the larger, more firm Asian varieties (Diospyros kaki), available in grocery stores, rather than the golden ping-pong ball sized fruits that grow in Missouri’s wilds.

Persimmon fruits are the largest native true berries. They turn from green to bright orange as they ripen in September through November, becoming soft, slightly wrinkled, and deliciously sweet. When ripe, they often fall to the ground, although some ripe fruits remain on trees after they have dropped their leaves and can be dislodged by shaking the tree.

However, until persimmons are fully ripe, they have a beyond-bitter flavor and a mouth-drying astringency due to the rupturing of tannin cells in the unripe fruits. These chemical compounds cause extremely unpleasant puckering of mouth tissues.

Missouri State Botanist Malissa Briggler grew up in Callaway County in the central part of the state, where her family farmed.

“Persimmons were always there, but I didn’t know about them,” she said. That was until a friend persuaded her to bite into a green persimmon.

“It was terrible,” Briggler said of both the flavor and the trick her friend played on her.

In Missouri, persimmon trees can be found growing in forested areas but prefer more light than many understory species. According to esteemed botanist Julian Steyermark, author of Flora of Missouri, they are found naturally growing on prairies, the borders of woods, and along streams. Mature trees have rounded crowns, range in height from 30 to 60 feet, and may take up to nine years to produce fruit when started from seed.

“They’re pretty widespread in Missouri except for some northwestern counties,” Briggler said. “I see them growing along fencerows, and persimmons are easy to pick up in pastures that have been recently grazed or hayed.”

The Birds and Bees of Persimmon Trees

Persimmon trees are most often dioecious, which means they are either male or female. In May and June, small, fragrant green-yellow to white, four-lipped blooms occur on short stalks in sets of three on male trees and singly on female trees. Persimmons are bee- and wind-pollinated. Occasionally, a tree will be self-fertile — monecious — with perfect flowers and no need for a partner in pollination.

Trees reproduce both sexually through seed production and asexually by way of root runners, forming groves. Persimmons take seven to 10 years to produce fruit, with each berry containing five to eight large seeds. Because all trees in a grove are the same sex as the parent tree, an entire grove of male trees will be fruitless.

Persimmon’s 3- to 6-inch leaves have a tapered oval shape. They are one of the last trees to leaf out in the spring and the first to drop their leaves, which turn yellow, in the fall. Mature trees’ thickly furrowed and blocky grey-black bark is sometimes likened to alligator skin, making them easy to identify.

Historical Perspective

Fossil records dating back to the Cretaceous period — approximately 145 to 566 million years ago — show that the somewhat exotic persimmon genus existed in countries throughout the world. Despite being widespread in North America, in its most recent adaptations, our native species’ range is limited to the southeastern quadrant of the United States. Some variations exist in American persimmons harkening back to the time when they were more diverse and widespread. The black Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana) is one example.

For centuries, persimmons had a place on Native Americans’ menus, in their pharmacopeias, and in their legends. In addition to enjoying them fresh, sugar-rich persimmons were dried for winter meals and used in puddings and breads, among other things. The word persimmon is derived from the Native Americans’ references to them — spelled various ways in the written canon — which roughly translated means “dried fruit.”

Persimmons are a good source of phosphorous, potassium, and vitamin C, and their astringent properties have been shown to increase antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses. Native Americans used the inner bark from the trees to make treatments for mouth and throat ailments, heartburn, and toothaches. Roots were boiled and used to treat bowel maladies.

A Native American origin story tells of a man who undertook a spiritual journey at the behest of a celestial deity who advised him to refrain from eating and drinking until his quest was completed. On the man’s journey, he chanced upon a grove of ripe persimmons and was unable to resist them. He ate his fill, angering the deity who turned him into an animal that leaves footprints like a human, uses its hands like a man, and who has the uncanny ability to always know when persimmons are the perfect ripeness: the raccoon.

Persimmons also are favored dining for deer, opossums, foxes, and other small mammals, which kindly spread the seeds in their scat. Turkeys, quail, and some songbirds are fond of the fruit. Additionally, persimmon trees are a host plant for several moth species including luna and royal walnut moths, whose caterpillars dine on the tree’s leaves.

Native Americans introduced persimmons to European settlers who welcomed an abundant natural food source. They eventually used the entire tree in a variety of ways.

One of the earliest written records referencing the American persimmon is attributed to Thomas Hariot, an English mathematician, astronomer, and scientist who spent time in the New World’s Roanoke, Virginia colony.

Hariot published “A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia of the commodities and of the nature and manners of the natural inhabitants” in 1590 — a treatise aimed at documenting the country’s economic possibilities. He referred to persimmons as medlars, which are the fruit of a rose-like tree found throughout Europe. Hariot wrote that persimmons were “a kind of verie good fruit, so called by vs chieflie for these respectes: first in that they are not good vntill they be rotten: then in that they open at the head as our medlars, and are about the same bignesse: otherwise in taste and colour they are farre different: for they are as red as cheries and very sweet: but whereas the cherie is sharpe sweet, they are lushious sweet.”

Jamestown’s John Smith concurred, writing in 1607, “The fruit is like a medlar; it is first green then yellow, and red when ripe; if it be not ripe, it will draw a man’s mouth awrie with much torment; but when it is ripe, it is as delicious as an apricock.”

American persimmons belong to the Ebenaceae, or ebony family, which means its light-colored wood is very fine grained and extremely hard. Settlers used it to make things like tool handles, gun stocks, fifes, flutes, and shuttles for weaving. It also has been used to make pool cues and golf clubs. The heartwood can be beautifully dark colored in mature trees.

During the Civil War, persimmon seeds were used as buttons and, in a pinch, roasted, ground, and used as a coffee substitute. Leaves were used to make tea.

Try it. You’ll like it.

Persimmon pulp can be used to make preserves, breads, cookies, puddings, custards, ice cream, and fruit leather. Historically, it was used to make wine and beer, the latter nicknamed “possum toddy.”

To process persimmons, first wash them and remove stems and any dark spots. Place them in a food mill to separate the pulp from the skins and seeds. Any pulp that isn’t used immediately can be frozen.

“Persimmons are a good safe fruit to recommend for foraging,” Briggler said. “I sometimes worry about foraging, but persimmons don’t have a lot of look-alikes as some other wild edibles do.

“That’s something that’s so nice about the Conservationist,” she added. “People who aren’t familiar with persimmons will learn about them and maybe give them a try. They are a delicious, safe edible fruit.”

If you’d like to plant persimmon trees on your property as a wildlife planting or in your landscape, trees are available for purchase through the George O. White State Forest Nursery, located near Licking, Mo. The nursery offers seedlings at modest prices from Sept. 1 through April 15, while supplies last.