Persimmon
Description
Any of several small deciduous trees (genus Diospyros) having orange to red color edible fruits. Various types of persimmons are found throughout the temperate regions of the world. The trees produces a dense, close-grain wood that is similar to Ebony. It is used for shuttles, bobbins, golf club heads, and billiard cues.
Synonyms and Related Terms
kaki (Diospyros kaki: native to China); sharon fruit; Oriental persimmon; black sapote (Diospyros digyna; native to central America), mabolo (Diospyros discolor; native to the Philipppines); velvet apple; date-plum (Diospyros lotus; native to southeast Europe and southwest Asia); Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana); American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana; native to eastern North America); kaki (Jap., Deut., Fr.); caqui (Esp., Port.); persimonio (Esp.); zapote (Esp.); plaqueminier (Fr.); caco (It.);
Physical and Chemical Properties
- Tree height to 10 m.
- Fruit = 3-8 cm in diameter.
- Heartwood is black or dark brown.
- Sapwood is pale in color.
Resources and Citations
- The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998
- Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "persimmon" [Accessed 25 Jan. 2006].
- Museum of Japanese Traditional Art Crafts at http://www.nihon-kogeikai.com/ (Jap. term)
- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persimmon [Accessed 25 Jan. 2006].