Description
- The tree Diospyros kaki is the most widely cultivated species of persimmon. Typically the tree reaches 4.5 to 18 metres (15 to 60 ft) in height and is round-topped.[1] It usually stands erect, but sometimes can be crooked or have a willowy appearance
- The leaves are 7–15 centimetres (2.8–5.9 in) long, and are oblong in shape with brown-hairy petioles 2 centimetres (0.8 in) in length
- They are leathery and glossy on the upper surface, brown and silky underneath.[1] The leaves are deciduous and bluish-green in color. In the fall, they turn to yellow, orange, or red.
- Persimmon fruit matures late in the fall and can stay on the tree until winter.[4] In color, the ripe fruit of the cultivated strains range from glossy light yellow-orange to dark red-orange depending on the species and variety.[1] They similarly vary in size from 1.5 to 9 cm (0.6 to 3.5 in) in diameter, and in shape the varieties may be spherical, acorn-, or pumpkin-shaped.
- The flesh is astringent until fully ripe and is yellow, orange, or dark-brown in color.[1] The calyx generally remains attached to the fruit after harvesting, but becomes easy to remove once the fruit is ripe. The ripe fruit has a high glucose content and is sweet in taste. Like the tomato, persimmons are not commonly considered to be berries, but morphologically the fruit is in fact a berry.
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