The berries of a Texas persimmon start out green and turn dark purple or black when ripe. Staff photo by Jennifer Greenwell
The drought-resistant Texas persimmon, or Diospyros texana, is a standout plant in the Central Texas landscape for its fruit. After all, diospyros in Greek translates to “divine fruit,” although its description—tiny, black fruit with multiple seeds and a tar-like pulp—doesn’t sound so appealing.
The marble-size fruit, technically a berry, ripens from June through September. Each berry has three to eight large seeds inside. The fruit starts out leaf-green in color and ripens to a dark purple/black, which indicates when it is edible.
While green, a persimmon has strongly astringent, pucker-producing properties that cause tissue to constrict. Native Americans found this trait useful in treating certain ailments. They used the juice as a dye, unripe berries to calm mouth sores and hemorrhoids, and chewed the the plant’s bark for heartburn.
The Spanish name for the Texas persimmon is chapote, which means tar. Take a bite of a ripe one and you will find out why.
A ripe berry’s interior resembles tar and temporarily turns the mouth an unappealing shade of brownish-black. Not tasting remotely like tar, however, the berry has a pleasant, sweet flavor that is similar to a prune. While Texas persimmons are tasty, they are a little tricky to eat as they contain a lot of seeds and the flesh is more of a pulp.
The Texas persimmon attracts bees, butterflies, and wild animals, which is one reason it is aplenty—what goes in must come out. Wildlife eat the berries whole, seeds included. Animals later “deposit” the seeds in different locations with a bonus bit of fertilizer.
Somewhat diminutive for a tree and sometimes large for a shrub, the Texas persimmon is a slow-growing, multi-trunked member of the ebony family, known for its hard, heavy, and dark wood. Those found in the Highland Lakes are typically more shrub-like and usually less than 15 feet tall.
This family of trees (or shrubs!) contains the compound naphthoquinone, which turns wood black. The Texas persimmon is known for its smooth, light gray bark, which characteristically turns whitish and peels year-round in large, rectangular sheets that curl.
At just over an inch, leaves of the Texas persimmon are smooth-edged ovals with a slight pucker to them and a bit of fuzz. The plant is dioecious, which means it is either male or female, and both are needed for the female to produce fruit. Both sexes flower between February and June. The female’s white flowers are slightly larger than the male’s and appear individually rather than in clusters. The flowers attract pollinators, and nature takes its course.
Next time you are out for a stroll, keep your eyes peeled for the Texas persimmon. It is easy to spot if you look for the distinctive bark and small green leaves. If you find one with black, ripe berries, grab one and take a bite. Just remember the fruit is loaded with seeds and will stain your lips, but yum!
People have found various uses for Texas persimmons for years, including making jelly and wine. Whether or not you eat them, the plant makes a nice addition to landscaping as it requires little water and is semi-evergreen.
Fun Facts
- Male and female Texas persimmons look identical until they flower.
- Male plants typically outnumber females in the wild.
- Texas persimmons are larval hosts to gray hairstreak and Henry’s Elfin butterflies.
- Wood from the Texas persimmon has been used for making tool handles.
