Four cookie trays crammed with 1/4" sections of orange fruit.

Dehydrating persimmons. They are so good. #persimmon #gardening #diospyros #ebenaceae

Fuyu persimmons in a wooden bowl.

One of the things I miss most about being in the Bay Area are the prodigious amount of persimmons that are available this time of year, so it’s always so special to receive a box of these from friends to brighten up cold snowy days in the northeast 🌱 🧡 #Ebenaceae

Transparent, rectangular bin filled almost to top with orange, somewhat flattened fruit, all with calyces still attached.

Harvested 63 persimmons this year, almost twice the number from 2024. And lost only one to the squirrels, compared to perhaps 10 last year. Will be making the usual array of puddings, breads, and ice cream. Might attempt a jam and a cocktail. Anything left over gets dehydrated. #persimmon #ebenaceae

#Kakishibu 柿渋 is a tannin-rich liquid made from aged, fermented unripe persimmons, #Diospyros kaki. It's brushed onto washi (🇯🇵 handmade paper) to improve its durability & water-imperviousness.

L: washi treated w/ kakishibu; R: untreated washi.
#botany #ebenaceae #ethnobotany
#followingthepapertrail

Brown basket full of apple-sized orange fruit with green calyces still attached to the stem ends.

Harvested my persimmons (Diospyros kaki 'Fuyu') yesterday: 33! Delicious raw (especially in salads), but will likely let most of them ripen further for puddings, muffins, and perhaps chutney. Wish I'd planted a Hachiya, too (better for baking). #persimmon #fruit #gardening #baking #ebenaceae

Close up photo of the undersides of leaves. The simple, elliptical leaf has tiny dots just off the midvein near the leaf base.

Diospyros ssp. often have extrafloral nectaries on the abaxial surface of the leaf. There are low, flat glands on the underside of the leaf of this Diospyros discolor (by Loupok CC BYNCND2). Zoom way in to see the rows of small dots on either side of the midvein. #Ebenaceae #Botany #PlantScience 🌾

Close-up photo of a ovate, simple leaf. The surface of the leaf is dotted with black spots of varying sizes - the sign of insect or mechanical damage or natural senescence.

The black pigments of Diospyros are naturally occurring naphthoquinones. They oxidize & turn black (the spots on this D. virginiana leaf). These compounds are structurally related to the pigments in black walnut (#Juglans nigra) and #henna (#Lawsonia inermis). #Ebenaceae
#Botany #PlantScience 🌾

Close up photo of two black fruits, one cut transversely to reveal lots of soft flesh and a few large brown seeds. A spoon rest in front of the fruits, having scooped out a bit of flesh.

Of the many #Diospyros grown for edible fruit, D. nigra, the black sapote of Mesoamerica, is known among tropical fruit enthusiasts as “chocolate pudding fruit.” The similarity to chocolate pudding is only in color. They taste nothing of chocolate. #Ebenaceae #TropicalBotany #Botany #PlantScience 🌾

A black wood cabinet standing on tall legs. Every surface of the cabinet is intricately carved.

Ebony wood is the valuable, hard, black, heartwood of several species of Diospyros, incl. D. ebenum (Ceylon ebony). Overharvesting has depleted natural stocks. Here’s a fine example of a carved, 17th Century, French cabinet, from the V&A Museum. #Ebenaceae #EconomicBotany #Botany #PlantScience 🌾

#Ebenaceae in art!

Photo of a small tree with small leaves. The branches occur in tiers with bare (unbranched) areas of the trunk between each tier.

Photo of a tree with tiers of branches on the main trunk.

A useful field character for #Ebenaceae is the characteristic branching pattern on young trees—I’ve heard it described as spokes on a wheel. Tiers of branches radiate from the central leader. (Hard to photograph!) 1 📷: Diospyros buxifolia. 2 📷: D. argentea. #TropicalBotany #Botany #PlantScience 🌾

Photo of a hand holding a leafy branch with alternate leaves and reticulate venation. In the leaf axils are solitary flowers. The calyx is large and plicate. The petals are white and 5 in number.

The genus Diospyros (1 of 3 genera in the #Ebenaceae) is large (778 spp. & counting). They have alternate, simple leaves & fine, reticulate venation. The sepals & petals are basally connate. Calyx conspicuous (& enlarging in fruit). Sap clear. 📷: D. kaki. #TropicalBotany #Botany #PlantScience 🌾

Photo of a leafy branch bearing a single, pale orange fruit. The enlarged calyx is visible.

American persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, is a dioecious tree. The fruits are large berries & were an important food for Native Americans, as well as wildlife. Note the accrescent calyx (= the calyx enlarges as the fruit develops). Very common in the family. #Ebenaceae #Botany #PlantScience 🌾

Photo of a heap of orange persimmons, so with the enlarged calyx still attached

It has come to my attention that I have NEVER posted about #Ebenaceae. 😲 It’s time to rectify that gross oversight. The family is mostly tropical with some temperate representatives, most famously the #persimmon, like this D. kaki, with edible fruits. #Botany #PlantScience 🌾