Fruit of the Gods | Diospyros virginiana: the American Persimmon
In the Ozarks, fall is synonymous with persimmons.
As summer ends and the cooler weather sets in, this delightful fruit ripens to its full & delicious flavor in the fields and on the edges of forests throughout the land.
The genus diospyros translates as wheat of Zeus or food of the gods.
If you’ve ever eaten a perfectly ripe persimmon, you will understand why. The soft and sweet flesh has an amazingly complex flavor profile reminiscent of spiced pudding. Be warned that the unripe fruit is extremely astringent and turns some folks off.
obviously the greenish hard one is not ripe!
If you wait until the fruits fully soften you will be glad you did. Mmmmm.
Rich in vitamins and minerals, persimmons are a wonderful addition to the fall diet and will be added to our stored food in the pantry.
- We will be freezing pulp, canning chutney and brewing wine with our bounty.*
This tree can produce abundant fruit for decades and suffers from few pests. It is certainly not picky about growing conditions and is easy to grow!
Selected cultivars of American fruit are available for grafting as are Kakis (discussed below). Onto the hundreds of wild persimmons on our land, we hope to graft many selected varieties for a longer harvest season and diversity among fruit.
Ini standing beneath a very old roadside persimmon near our home.
More commonly cultivated are the Kaki or Asian persimmons (diospyros kaki) which are quite popular overseas. In the USA, there are few areas that focus on producing this great fruit, although some acreage in California produces Kakis.
Ground scores!
We encourage you all to get yourself some persimmons by scoping your surroundings or planting your own!
Look how laden they become!
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American persimmons are my #1 favorite wild fruit, hands down. They must have seemed so sweet to folks back before honey bees were in North America. The wood of a persimmon tree is so special, too. More like a tropical hardwood. And if you want to see a lot of wildlife, just hang around until night time under a persimmon tree. Everybody out there likes persimmons, lol -- the deer, fox, possums, raccoons, bears, dogs. Not the cats, but just about everybody else. Enjoy all your persimmon bounty!
The persimmons look to be a great addition to my small homestead here in central Florida. I hadn't heard of anyone nearby growing them so I had to search it out. The U of Fla website says they'll grow wonderfully here..good news!!
Awesome! Definitely a fantastic food crop- yummy AND easy to grow. 😍
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The abundance of MountainJewel always amazes me. And your ability to Obtain a Yield. Principle number 3 I think :)
You’re sweet! And good memory! We have been watching these since the fruit set. Year after year it’s easy just to add the memory of “where the fruit is”! A mental map :)
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Another not seen around here, that I'd love to try! That's some haul, those boxes full!
Yeah just a few minutes picking up off of the ground! Amazing that more locals don’t like them....
Wow they look so delicious! I have 2 baby american persimmon seedlings in my nursery.. and then I just found out about a spot nearby that has a few american persimmon trees, which is a rare treat since they are not abundandly wild here as they are where you are. I though I had until late october but after seeing them already ripe where you are I better get over there sooner than later and check on the status!
Yes! Curious to hear how your local ones are. There are two trees near us (in full sun) fully finished fruiting, these two trees about half way and another couple that aren’t ripe at all. We posted this on Instagram too and locals were saying “wait for the frost” (late October), but If we had, wed have missed all this!! Goes to show the variation in microclimate/locale.
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I'm going to plant another persimmon soon, didn't have luck last time but thta doesn't mean I shouldn't again. I usually raid a friends tree they are delicious. Send me over some persimmon booze, he he x
He he ;) you’ll have to visit for that! You grow Japanese persimmons, the Asian ones, I’m guessing? I wonder how the American ones would fare where u are... xoxo
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Yes, that's right, the Asian ones. They're very pretty. I'll keep an eye out and read more about the difference. I didnt know about the American ones, but then I didn't know about American pawpaws either ! Learning so much from you!
How wonderful, I love kakis and didn't even know there was such a thing as American persimmons. I'm sure it tastes lovely, and can only imagine its chutney, jam, or wine.
These look amazing.
Do you know the coldest zone they can tolerate? I'm a 7/6 ish zone. usually confident 7 but last winter sort of threw that scale out the window.
I'm always looking to find more types of fruits to mix in. I love that it is called the 'wheat of Zeus'. It makes me want to do an illustration of that!
Do they still taste like gooey slimy pumpkin, like the "regular" persimmons?