Persimmons (Diospyros)

Diospyros texana, the Texas persimmon, is a small, tough native tree grown above all for the bark, which peels away in thin flakes to reveal a smooth, mottled patchwork of white, gray, and pink beneath. Intricately and crookedly branched, this is a sculptural little tree, as handsome bare in winter as it is in leaf. A creature of the Texas hill country and northern Mexico, the Texas persimmon shrugs off heat, drought, and lean limestone soil that would defeat softer plants.

Hardiness

Zones 7–9

Light

Full Sun

Height

10–25 ft.

Spread

8–15 ft.

Bloom

White

Plant type

Tree

The botanical name reads like a compliment: Diospyros joins the Greek dios, divine, to pyros, grain, so the genus translates roughly as "fruit of the gods," a lofty title for a tree that drops sweet, homely orange fruit onto the forest floor each autumn. The common name travels the other direction, plain and American, from the Powhatan word putchamin for a dried fruit, a reminder that Native peoples were drying persimmons into cakes long before the botanists arrived.

Hardiness

Zones 4–9

Light

Full Sun / Part Shade

Height

55–60 ft.

Spread

30–35 ft.

Bloom

Yellow

Plant type

Tree

Traditional use

digestive health, topical applications, general wellness