{"id":20731,"date":"2023-01-30T09:39:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T13:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=20731"},"modified":"2025-08-01T09:50:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T13:50:13","slug":"intro-to-trees-of-indiana-persimmon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/intro-to-trees-of-indiana-persimmon\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Trees of Indiana: Persimmon"},"content":{"rendered":"

The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was\u00a0published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.\u00a0\u00a0Nearly 70 years later, the publication has\u00a0been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources,\u00a0Indiana 4-H<\/a>, and\u00a0the\u00a0Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/a>, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”<\/p>\n

The\u00a0full publication<\/a>\u00a0is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.<\/p>\n

Each week, the Intro to\u00a0Trees of Indiana web\u00a0series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an\u00a0ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester\u00a0Lenny Farlee<\/a> to help visualize each\u00a0species as it stands in the woods.\u00a0Threats to species\u00a0health\u00a0as well as\u00a0also\u00a0insight into the wood\u00a0provided\u00a0by the species, will be provided\u00a0through additional resources as well as the\u00a0Hardwoods of the Central Midwest<\/a>\u00a0exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available. \"drawing<\/a><\/p>\n

This week, we meet the persimmon or\u00a0Diospyros virginiana<\/em>, one of Indiana\u2019s fruit producing trees.<\/p>\n

The alternately held leaves of persimmon are oval shaped with smooth margins, with no lobes or teeth. The thick dark green leaves turn yellow or reddish-purple in the fall. The buds are dark colored, while leaf stems are light brown.<\/p>\n

The bark resembles alligator hide with deep broken ridges, often with an orange coloring between the ridges.<\/p>\n

The fruit, a pumpkin orange colored fleshy plum-like fruit, is a standout characteristic and is favored by both\u00a0wildlife and humans. Once it ripens and falls from the tree, persimmon is soft and sweet. If picked from the tree, this fruit can be green, very hard, gummy in texture and acidic. The seed count in persimmon is variable with some seedless varieties and some with as many as 10 seeds.<\/p>\n

Persimmon trees, which grow 35 to 60 feet tall, are native to southern Indiana but can be found planted across the state. This species grows best in full sun and in moist, well-drained soils, but are tolerant of alkaline soil, clay, dry sites, and occasional drought. The natural range of the persimmon is the lower Midwest and southeastern United States reaching up into southern Illinois.<\/p>\n