[Illustration: MEXICAN PERSIMMON]
Trees or shrubs; leaves usually leathery; calyx 3-11-lobed; petals
united, 3-7; stamens 6-14, or more; ovary superior.
Mexican Persimmon (_Diospyros texana_) is also called ’possum plum,
“chapote,” and black persimmon. It is a shrub or small tree found in
river-valleys and on limestone hills from Central Texas to Mexico. It
may be easily recognized by its smooth, light-gray bark, small leaves,
and creamy heath-like flowers. The bell-shaped flowers are in dense
clusters on the tree which has pollen-bearing flowers, whereas the
seed-bearing flowers, which grow on a separate tree, are larger and
fewer in number. The black fruits ripen in August, when the pulp becomes
juicy but somewhat insipid.
The black wood is hard and, like other species of ebony, takes an
excellent polish. It is used for making tools. The Mexicans use a black
dye obtained from the fruits in dyeing sheep-skins. The common persimmon
(_Diospyros virginiana_) is found wild from Connecticut to East Texas,
where the sprouts are vicious pests in plowed lands.