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Diospyros texana
Also called Mexican Persimmon, Black Persimmon
Texas persimmon is a small multi-trunked tree or large shrub native to Texas and northeastern Mexico, valued for its peeling bark, drought tolerance and edible berries. It is grown as an ornamental in dry, sunny, well-drained sites.
Diospyros texana is a species of persimmon that is native to central, south and west Texas and southwest Oklahoma in the United States, and eastern Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. Common names include Texas persimmon, Mexican persimmon and the more ambiguous "black persimmon". It is known in Spanish as chapote, chapote manzano, or chapote prieto, all of which are derived from the Nahuatl word tzapotl. That word also refers to several other fruit-bearing trees.
Texas persimmon can be found at elevations from sea level to 1,800 m (5,900 ft). It inhabits the Edwards Plateau the Chihuahuan Desert, the southern third of the Western Gulf coastal grasslands, the Tamaulipan mezquital, and the Tamaulipan matorral. Throughout its range, D. texana favors riparian zones, prairie margins, and rocky slopes. It prefers well-drained, alkaline soils.
The sapwood of Texas persimmon is clear yellow, while the heartwood, found only in very large trees, is black (ebony), like that of the related D. ebenum. The heartwood is hard and dense and takes a high polish. It is used to make engraving blocks, artwork, and tools. The fleshy berries are edible and sweet when ripe and are used in puddings and custards; they are also relished by many species of birds and mammals. However, they are astringent when unripe.
Giant Diospyros · Diospyros acapulcensis · Diospyros acris · Diospyros aculeata · Diospyros acuminata · Diospyros agnitser · Diospyros alatella · Diospyros andamanica · Diospyros apiculata · Diospyros areolata · Diospyros artanthifolia · Diospyros arupaj
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Diospyros texana 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
