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Diospyros (Dios, Jove's, pyros, grain; alluding to its edible fruit). Ebenaceae. Persimmon. Ebony. Woody plants grown partly for the handsome foliage and partly for their edible fruits; some species are valuable timber trees.
Deciduous or evergreen trees or shrubs, with alternate, rarely opposite, entire lvs., without stipules: fls. dioecious or polygamous in few- or many-fld., axillary cymes, the pistillate often solitary, yellowish or whitish; calyx and corolla 3-7-, usually 4-lobed; stamens usually 8-16, included; styles 2-6; ovary 4-;12-celled: fr. a large, juicy berry, 1-10-seeded, bearing usually the enlarged calyx at the base; seed flat, rather large.— About 190 species in the tropics, few in colder climates.
The few cultivated species are ornamental trees, with handsome lustrous foliage, rarely attacked by insects and with decorative and edible fruit. The only species which is tolerably hardy North is D. virginiana, while D, Kaki, much cultivated in Japan for its large edible fruits, is hardy only in the southern states. Most species have valuable hard and close-grained wood, and that of some tropical species is known as ebony. They thrive in almost any soil, but require, in cooler climates, sheltered and sunny positions. Propagated by seeds to be sown after maturity or stratified and sown in spring, and by cuttings of half-ripened wood or by layers; the tropical species by cuttings of mature wood in spring, with bottom heat; the fruit-bearing varieties are usually grafted or budded on seedling stock of D. virginiana. See Persimmon.
D. armata, Hemsl. Spiny tree, to 20 ft.: Lvs. persistent, oval- oblong, obtuse, 1-2 in. long: staminate fls. in short panicles, creamy white, fragrant: fr. usually solitary, ¾ in. across. Cent. China. Tender.—D. Ebenster, Retz. The "guayabota" and "zapote negro," from Mex. and W. Indies, has been catalogued in S. Calif. It is a tall tree, with very sweet frs. the size of an orange, green outside and almost black inside: Lvs. elliptic or oblong, usually obtuse, 3-12 in. long: fls. white, fragrant.—D. Ebenum, Koenig. Tree, to 50 ft.: Lvs. elliptic-oblong, bluntly acuminate, glabrous: fls. white, staminate, in short racemes. E. Indies, Ceylon. For cult. in hothouses or tropical climates. This species is said to yield the best ebony.—D. Morrisiana, Hance. Evergreen shrub or small tree, glabrous: Lvs. oval, obtusely acuminate, 2-3½ in. long: fls. whitish, drooping, on hairy stalks: fr. yellow, subglobose, ½-¾ in. across. Hongkong, Formosa. The edible fr. ripens in Dec.—D. utilis, Hemsl. Evergreen large tree: branchlets silky-pubescent: Lvs. oblong, short-petioled, glabrous above, whitish and silky- pubescent beneath, 5-8 in. long: fr. depressed-globose, pubescent, nearly 2 in. across. Formosa. The edible fr. is called Mao-shih. Alfred Rehder.
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