OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Diospyros virginiana   FAMILY Ebenaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Diospyros virginiana   FAMILY Ebenaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Diospyros virginiana

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8 (2009)

Diospyros virginiana

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Diospyros virginiana

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 150-01-001:

Diospyros virginiana   FAMILY Ebenaceae

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Diospyros mosieri

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Diospyros virginiana

 

COMMON NAME:
American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux    dcp34_p46a

        

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm191222_2370_d_virginia

    Clay County    AL

Cheaha State Park

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_853

        

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_divi5_001_lvd

        

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_divi5_009_lvd

        

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm090125_042

January    Greenville County    SC

Paris Mountain State Park

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm090125_051

January    Greenville County    SC

Paris Mountain State Park

Three to eight large seeds per berry, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm090125_053

January    Greenville County    SC

Paris Mountain State Park

Bark thick, deeply furrowed into distinctive square, block-like plates, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm230228_1345

February    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

The twigs have no terminal bud, and the appressed lateral buds have 2 outer imbricate scales, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm210413_9539

April    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm110511_443

May    Edgefield County    SC

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm130513_957

May    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm200505_4590

May    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm230509_3200

May    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

Lateral buds ovoid with two lustrous, dark, deeply overlapping scales, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Roxanna Martin    rlm51410_112

May    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Roxanna Martin    rlm51510_216

May    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Roxanna Martin    rlm51510_227

May    Spartanburg County    SC

Pistillate flowers usually solitary, staminate flowers clustered, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Roxanna Martin    rlm51510_227b

May    Spartanburg County    

Flowers inconspicuous, axillary, urceolate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Roxanna Martin    rlm5210_142

May    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm220607_8380

June    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_d_virginiana_american

June        

Calyx 4-5 lobed, enlarging after flowering, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm170826_745

August    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_d_virginiana_common

September    Floyd County    GA

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Sam Pratt    sbp_3386

September    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Sam Pratt    sbp_3387

September    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm071025_032

October    Pickens County    SC

Clemson Forest

Bark is fissured, becoming blockier and thicker with age, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm081018_002

October    Greenville County    SC

Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm081018_007

October    Greenville County    SC

Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve

Position of calyx remnant reveals fruit to be derived from a superior ovary, per Woody Plants of Kentucky and Tennessee (Jones & Wofford, 2013).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm211016_4339

October    Greenville County    SC

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

Keith Bradley    kab_d_virginiana_4761

October    Lancaster County    SC

Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    s071020_a

October    Pickens County    SC

Leaves often have black blemishes on upper surface, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    s071020_b

October    Pickens County    SC

Leaves never have teeth, distinguishing them from Nyssa sylvatica, per Weakley's Flora.


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE leaves of Blackgum and Persimmon

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm0411d_27

November    Oconee County    SC

Roadside

Fruit a berry 2-4cm wide, astringent until fully ripened on the branches, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm081208_020

December    Greenville County    SC

Flesh of soft fallen fruit is orange and sweet, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Diospyros virginiana, American Persimmon, Possumwood, Simmon

JK Marlow    jkm081228_004

December    Greenville County    SC

Field

The wood is some of the heaviest & hardest in eastern North America, per Weakley's Flora.

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Diospyros virginiana   FAMILY Ebenaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Diospyros virginiana   FAMILY Ebenaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Diospyros virginiana

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8
Diospyros virginiana

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Diospyros virginiana

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 150-01-001:
Diospyros virginiana   FAMILY Ebenaceae

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Diospyros mosieri

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Diospyros virginiana

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

477

Tree
Perennial
Functionally dioecious

Habitat: Dry forests and woodlands, longleaf pine sandhills, prairies, disturbed places, floodplain and mesic forests, fencerows, roadsides, other disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Whitish, yellowish-white
4-lobed calyx
4-lobed urceolate corolla
16 stamens (usually)
Superior ovary

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Orange to yellow
Berry

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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