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Diospyros
Also called Ebony, Starapples, Ebony, Persimmon, Persimmons And Starapples
Diospyros is a large genus of over 700 deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, mostly tropical, grown either for edible fruit (persimmons, such as D. kaki and D. virginiana) or for hard dark timber (ebony). Its species are generally dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, so both sexes are needed for fruit.
Diospyros is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, which are typically dioecious. The majority are native to the tropics and many are of local ecological importance.
Species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber are commonly known as ebony trees, while those valued for their fruit are known as persimmon trees.
Most species are native to the tropics, with only a few extending into temperate regions.
The genus includes several plants of commercial importance, either for their edible fruit (persimmons) or for their timber (ebony). The latter are divided into two groups in trade: the pure black ebony (notably from D. ebenum, but also several other species), and the striped ebony or calamander wood (from D. celebica, D. mun and others). Most species in the genus produce little to none of this black ebony-type wood; their hard timber (e.g. of American persimmon, D. virginiana) may still be used on a more limited basis.
Mabolo · Diospyros buxifolia · Diospyros diepenhorstii · Ebony · Diospyros egrettarum · Diospyros ferrea · Australian Ebony · Japanese persimmon · Date-plum · Indian Persimmon · Tendu · Black sapote
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Diospyros by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
