// SPECIES PROFILE · TREE · NATIVE

American Persimmon

Diospyros virginiana

The genus name Diospyros is Greek for "fruit of the gods" — an extravagant claim until you taste a wild persimmon that has dropped to the ground after the first hard frost. Across NE Oklahoma, Diospyros virginiana is one of the most abundant and most under-harvested wild fruit trees of the Cross Timbers, old pasture edges and fence rows. Its blocky, alligator-skin bark is one of the most distinctive of any North American tree, and its orange October fruit feeds nearly every mammal in the woods — including the opossum, whose former genus-mate gave persimmon its other common name, possumwood. The catch: persimmon is dioecious (separate male and female trees), so you generally need both to get fruit.

// QUICK FACTS

Family: Ebenaceae (ebony family)
Other names: Common persimmon · possumwood · sugar plum · simmon
Native range: S. Connecticut → Florida, west to E. Kansas, Oklahoma & Texas
Range in OK: Common throughout E & C OK; abundant across NE OK
USDA hardiness: Zones 4–9 (Tulsa = 7a/7b)
Mature size: 30–80 ft tall · 20–35 ft spread (taller in MS basin)
Sex system: Dioecious — need male + female for fruit
Ploidy races: 60-chromosome (south) & 90-chromosome (north/west); generally non-interbreeding
Bloom: May – June, after leaves emerge
Fruit ripens: October – November (Tulsa); after first frost
Sun: Full sun → part shade
Soil: Light, sandy, well-drained preferred; tolerates clay & rocky uplands
Water: Low; deeply drought-tolerant once established
Wildlife: Opossum · raccoon · fox · deer · songbirds · Luna moth host

American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) tree bearing orange fruit in autumn — Diospyros virginiana in fruit — the late-October moment that draws every mammal in the woods. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Identification

[ field key — bark · leaf · flower · fruit · habit ]

Habit & Bark

Small to medium tree, typically 30–60 ft in NE Oklahoma but reaching 80–115 ft in the lower Mississippi basin. Trunk is short and slender; branches spread broadly and often droop. The bark is the field mark: dark gray to nearly black, deeply divided into small, square, blocky plates — the classic "alligator skin" or "charcoal briquette" pattern. Once you've seen it, you can ID a leafless persimmon at 50 paces. Twigs are slender, zigzag, with thick pith and tiny dark purple-scaled buds. The species commonly suckers from shallow stoloniferous roots, forming clonal thickets in old pastures.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, oval-elliptic, 4–6 in long, with an entire (smooth) margin and an acute or short-acuminate tip. Mature leaves are thick, dark glossy green above and paler — sometimes finely pubescent — beneath, with a broad flat midrib and conspicuous opposite primary veins. New foliage emerges revolute (rolled under at the margin) and pale reddish-green. Fall color is variable: occasional clear orange or scarlet, but more often the leaves drop green or dull yellow after the first cold snap.

Flowers

Small, fragrant, urn-shaped (tubular), greenish-yellow to creamy white, four-lobed and pollinated by bees and flies. Open May–June after the leaves are half-grown. Dioecious: male flowers are 2–3 per cyme on short downy pedicels with sixteen paired stamens; female flowers are larger and solitary, with eight aborted staminodes and a smooth eight-celled ovary topped by four spreading styles. Easy to overlook — the flowers are nearly the color of the leaves.

Fruit & Seeds

A juicy berry, depressed-globular, 3/4–1+1/2 in across, orange-yellow often with a red cheek and a faint bloom, sometimes turning bluish or yellow-brown after freezing. Each fruit is seated in the persistent four-lobed calyx, which expands as the fruit ripens. Inside are 1–8 large flat brown seeds (historically used as Civil War buttons in the South). Trees typically begin bearing at about six years of age. Most named cultivars are parthenocarpic — setting seedless fruit without pollination — but wild trees nearly always need a male nearby.

Habitat & Range in NE Oklahoma

American persimmon is one of the most widespread trees of eastern Oklahoma. It is extremely common in the Cross Timbers oak-hickory mosaic that covers the Tulsa region, and is among the most reliable colonizers of old fields, fence rows, brushy pasture edges, road cuts and recovering disturbed ground — a true pioneer species. It thrives on the sandy, cherty and shallow upland soils typical of Osage, Tulsa, Creek, Wagoner, Mayes and Rogers counties, but will also do well in deep alluvial bottoms along the Arkansas, Verdigris, Caney and Cimarron rivers, where it reaches its largest size.

Across its full range, the species splits into two cytotypes. The tetraploid (60-chromosome) race is centered in the southern Appalachians and tends toward larger trees with smaller fruit. The hexaploid (90-chromosome) race dominates north and west of that range — including Oklahoma — and is the source of virtually all named cultivars (Early Golden, John Rick, Meader, etc.). The two races are largely cross-incompatible, which matters when you're sourcing pollinizer males or grafted scion wood: stay within the hexaploid pool for our region.

Ecology & Wildlife Value

[ pollinators · larval hosts · seed dispersers · trophic role ]

Pollinators

Persimmon flowers are fragrant and nectar-rich, opening in May–June after most spring fruit trees have finished. Primary pollinators are honeybees, bumblebees, halictid sweat bees and flies; persimmon honey is locally prized. Because the species is dioecious, only female trees set fruit, but male trees are a significant pollen and nectar resource and should be retained on the landscape, not culled.

Lepidoptera Hosts

A larval host for the spectacular Luna moth (Actias luna), one of North America's most charismatic giant silkmoths, plus the hickory horned devil / regal moth (Citheronia regalis), the persimmon borer (Sannina uroceriformis), and several hairstreak butterflies including Calycopis cecrops (red-banded hairstreak). A single mature persimmon can support remarkable late-summer caterpillar diversity — do not spray.

Mammals & Birds

The most important wildlife fruit tree of the eastern oak-hickory forest in autumn. Ripe fruit is consumed by opossum (the genus name Didelphis shares the same Greek root di- as persimmon's name), raccoon, gray and red fox, coyote, skunk, white-tailed deer, semi-wild hogs, flying squirrels, and an enormous list of songbirds — cedar waxwings, robins, mockingbirds and woodpeckers all linger at fruiting trees. Seeds pass through gut systems intact and are deposited with a fertilizer packet.

An Evolutionary Anachronism

Persimmon is widely considered an evolutionary anachronism: the fruit's size, sugar content, and the hardness of its seeds suggest it co-evolved with the now-extinct Pleistocene megafauna — mastodons, gomphotheres and giant ground sloths — that dispersed it across the continent. A 2015 study found that passage through modern elephant guts significantly improves germination rate, supporting the "ghost partner" hypothesis. Today, opossums and raccoons fill in for the missing megafauna.

Dioecy — the most important thing to know: American persimmon is dioecious. You need both a male and a female tree to get fruit, with the male within ~50 ft of the female and blooming at the same time. Wild seedlings are roughly 50/50 male:female, but you cannot tell the sex of a seedling until it flowers (typically 4–7 years from seed). The two reliable workarounds: (1) buy named female cultivars grafted onto seedling rootstock and plant a known male nearby, or (2) plant a parthenocarpic, self-fertile cultivar such as 'Meader' that sets seedless fruit without a pollinizer.

Horticulture & Care

[ planting · soil · water · propagation · pruning · pests ]

Site selection & planting

Persimmon develops a deep, fleshy taproot very early in life, which makes it notoriously difficult to transplant once it gets above seedling size. The cardinal rule: plant small. A bare-root or 1-gallon seedling will outperform a balled-and-burlapped 10-footer within two seasons because the larger tree has lost most of its taproot at the nursery. Plant in fall through early spring, while dormant. Choose a site with full sun for fruit production (will tolerate part shade in the wild). Persimmon prefers light, sandy, well-drained soil but tolerates clay, rocky upland and even periodically wet bottoms; pH 6.0–7.5.

Hole: deep enough to accommodate the entire taproot uncoiled — this is more important than width.
Backfill: native soil only; do not amend.
Mulch: 2–3" of wood-chip mulch in a 3-ft ring, kept off the trunk.
Pollinizer: plant a male within ~50 ft of any female (unless using a parthenocarpic cultivar).
Water deeply 1×/week for the first 2 summers; minimal supplemental water needed thereafter.

Water & soil after establishment

Once established, American persimmon is among the most drought-tolerant fruit trees available for NE Oklahoma. The deep taproot reaches subsoil moisture other trees can't access, and mature trees regularly come through severe Tulsa-area summers without supplemental irrigation. Fruit size and quality do improve with one or two deep soaks during August–September dry spells.

Suckering & thicket management

Wild persimmon spreads aggressively by root suckers, forming clonal colonies that can dominate an old pasture. In a managed landscape, mow or grub out suckers each year to keep a single-trunk form, or accept the thicket as valuable wildlife habitat and edge cover. Note: root-sprout suckers from a female tree are female (and vice versa), so a mowed thicket may produce no fruit at all if the parent is male.

Pruning

Prune lightly in late winter while dormant. Persimmon naturally forms a strong central leader and needs little structural pruning — mostly removal of dead, crossing or rubbing branches and any low watersprouts. Heavy heading cuts trigger weak regrowth and provide entry points for wood-rot fungi; keep cuts small and clean.

Propagation

Seed: Collect ripe fruit October–November. Macerate and wash seeds clean. Cold-stratify in moist sand or peat at 33–40 °F for 60–90 days. Sow 1" deep in spring. Germination is good but the resulting seedlings are unknown sex and will not produce fruit for 4–7 years — plan for a thinning step.
Grafting (commercial method): Whip-and-tongue or chip-bud a known cultivar onto a 2-year-old seedling rootstock in late spring after the rootstock has leafed out. This is the standard way named cultivars are propagated.
Root suckers: Wild trees throw abundant stoloniferous suckers that can be lifted with a section of parent root in early spring. Easy and successful, but the sucker is a clone of the parent — same sex.
Cuttings: Difficult and rarely used.

Pests & diseases

Persimmon wilt (Acremonium diospyri) — the most serious disease; causes rapid decline and death in clusters. No cure; remove and burn affected trees.
Persimmon borer (Sannina uroceriformis) — clearwing moth larvae bore into the root crown of young trees; keep trunks healthy and avoid mower wounds.
Leaf spot fungi (Cercospora, anthracnose) — cosmetic in most years; rake leaf litter to reduce inoculum.
Caterpillars — Luna moth, regal moth, hairstreaks. Tolerate or celebrate the damage.

Notable cultivars for NE Oklahoma (all hexaploid)

Cultivar	Sex / fertility	Distinguishing feature	Notes for Tulsa
'Meader'	Female, parthenocarpic (self-fertile)	Sets seedless fruit without a male; cold-hardy	Best single-tree choice for a small NE OK food forest.
'Early Golden'	Female; needs male	One of the oldest named selections; reliable, productive, very early	Beats first-frost gamble; pair with a wild male.
'John Rick'	Female; needs male	Large fruit, excellent flavor, vigorous	A classic Indiana-pudding cultivar; performs in OK.
'Yates' (Juhl)	Female; needs male	Large, late-ripening, very sweet fruit	Extends the season into November.
'Prok'	Female; needs male	Very large fruit (up to 2"); productive	Show-stopper for fresh eating & jam.
'Ennis Seedless'	Female, parthenocarpic; tetraploid	Seedless, smaller fruit	Note: tetraploid race — do not pair with hexaploid males as pollinizer.

Companion planting in a food forest

Persimmon belongs in the upper canopy or sub-canopy layer (Layer 1 or 2) of a Cross Timbers food forest. Pairs naturally with pecan and blackjack/post oak in the canopy, chickasaw plum, American plum and pawpaw in the small-tree layer, elderberry and aromatic sumac in the shrub layer, and wild bergamot, purple coneflower and native warm-season grasses in the herbaceous matrix. Persimmon is not allelopathic and tolerates being underplanted.

Edible & Cultural Uses

American persimmon is one of the finest wild fruits of NE Oklahoma and a staple of Southern and Midwestern foodways. Long cultivated by Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, it remains a Slow Food Ark of Taste heritage crop today.

Fresh fruit: Eat ONLY when the fruit is soft, squishy, translucent and almost falling-apart ripe — usually after the first hard frost in late October or November. The flavor is rich, date-like, with notes of brown sugar, apricot and vanilla.
Persimmon pudding: The classic American use — a dense, dark, custardy baked pudding popularized in southern Indiana but at home in Oklahoma kitchens.
Jam, molasses, candy, leather: The pulp, once strained of seeds, makes excellent preserves, fruit leather and candies.
Persimmon beer / brandy: Historically fermented with hops, cornmeal or wheat bran into a low-alcohol country beer; also distilled into brandy. Bloomington Brewing Company in Indiana revived the tradition commercially.
Leaf tea: Dried young leaves brew a mild, vitamin-C-rich tea.
Roasted seeds: Used historically as a coffee substitute, particularly during the Civil War in the South.
Wood: The dense, very close-grained heartwood — produced only after roughly a century of growth — is a true ebony (Ebenaceae = ebony family) and has been used for golf-club heads, billiard cues, shuttles, woodturning and inlay. Termite-resistant due to the compound 7-methyljuglone.

The astringency warning: Unripe American persimmon is famously, mouth-puckeringly astringent — the high tannin content literally makes your mouth feel like it's been turned inside out. Color is NOT a reliable indicator of ripeness. A bright orange persimmon that is still firm to the touch is not ready and will be inedible. Eat only when the fruit is so soft it nearly bursts on contact, with translucent jelly-like flesh. Wait for the fruit to drop on its own, or for the first hard frost (which doesn't actually ripen the fruit chemically — it just coincides with the natural ripening window in most years).

Photo Reference

Distinctive blocky alligator-skin bark of American persimmon — // Bark · "alligator skin" blocky plates — the field mark
Wikimedia Commons

Greenish-yellow urn-shaped flowers of American persimmon in May — // Flowers · urn-shaped · greenish-yellow · May–June
Wikimedia Commons

A large old-growth American persimmon tree in Indiana, 1935 — // Habit · a giant persimmon, Indiana 1935
Wikimedia Commons

Sources & Further Reading

USDA NRCS PLANTS Database — Diospyros virginiana: plants.usda.gov — DIVI5
USDA Forest Service Fire Effects Information System (FEIS): fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/diovir
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center — Native Plant Database: wildflower.org — DIVI5
Oklahoma State University Extension — Native Trees of Oklahoma; HLA fact sheets on minor fruit trees.
Oklahoma Forestry Services — Forest Trees of Oklahoma.
University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification — American Persimmon (Kaiser & Ernst): uky.edu/ccd — persimmon.pdf
Pomper, Lowe, Crabtree et al. (2020), "Ploidy Level in American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) Cultivars," HortScience 55(1):4–7.
Boone et al. (2015), "A Test of Potential Pleistocene Mammal Seed Dispersal in Anachronistic Fruits," Southeastern Naturalist 14:22–32 — the elephant-gut germination study.
Wikipedia — Diospyros virginiana: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diospyros_virginiana (CC BY-SA 4.0; portions of the description, ploidy and uses sections summarize Wikipedia content).

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributors under their respective licenses (linked under each image).