Diospyros kaki

Diospyros kaki, also called persimmon or Oriental persimmon, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Diospyros. Although its first published botanical description was not until 1780, the kaki is among the oldest plants in cultivation, known for its use in China for more than 2000 years. In some rural Chinese communities, the kaki fruit is seen as having a great mystical power that can be harnessed to solve headaches, back pains and foot ache. The persimmon (kaki) is a sweet, slightly tangy fruit with a soft to occasionally fibrous texture. This species, native to China, is deciduous, with broad, stiff leaves. Cultivation extended first to other parts of East Asia, including Japan where it is very popular. It was later introduced to California and southern Europe in the 19th century, to Brazil in the 1890s, and numerous cultivars have been selected. A variety is Diospyros kaki var. sylvestris Makino.When ripe, this fruit comprises thick pulpy jelly encased in a waxy thin-skinned shell. In astringent cultivars (cultivated varieties), the fruit has a high proanthocyanidin-type tannin content which makes the immature fruit astringent and bitter. The tannin levels are reduced as the fruit matures. The fruit of those cultivars is not edible in its crisp, firm state; they're edible when soft ripe. The ripe fruit has a soft jelly-like consistency. The Japanese 'Hachiya' is a widely grown astringent cultivar. Other cultivars, such as 'Fuyu', do not contain tannins when firm. Those can be eaten like an apple or can be allowed to go to any stage of ripeness, including to the jelly-like stage. These non-astringent varieties are, however, considered to have a less complex flavor. 'Sharon Fruit' (named originally after Sharon plain in Israel) is a trade name for non-astringent D. kaki fruit. Diospyros kaki is commonly called Japanese persimmon, Chinese persimmon, kaki (from Japanese name 柿, kaki), kaki persimmon, and Oriental persimmon. The scientific name Diospyros kaki L. f. may be used erroneously for this plant. However, Diospyros kaki L. f., published in 1781, is a later homonym of Diospyros kaki Thunb., published in 1780. So the name Diospyros kaki L. f. is taxonomically illegitimate and not accepted. Similar in shape to an apple tree, the kaki tree reaches a size of up to 10 metres (33 ft). Its deciduous leaves are medium to dark green, broadly lanceolate, stiff and equally wide as long. Blooming from May to June, the trees are typically either male or female, but some produce both types of flowers. Furthermore, the sexual expression of a tree may vary from year to year. Unusually, the kaki fruits ripen when the leaves have mostly fallen off the tree, typically in October and November. (Northern Hemisphere) Kaki trees typically do not bear until they are 3 to 6 years old. The 2 centimetres (1 in)-2.5 centimetres (1 in) wide flowers appear in the spring. Female flowers have a creamy yellow color and tend to grow singly, while male flowers have a pink tint and tend to appear in threes. The flowers have four crown-shaped sepals and four petals. On occasion, bisexual flowers occur. Some varieties (parthenocarpic) will produce seedless fruit even in the absence of pollination, but their pollinated flowers will produce larger fruit riddled with seeds.