Persimmons

In grocery stores in the fall, you can sometimes find Asian persimmons.  I've seen them at warehouse clubs, too.  Typically, those are Fuyu persimmons, though there are other varieties.  They're big, sweet, and crunchy.  There's nothing wrong with them, and they can be grown in much of the US, too.

The native variety is similar but different.  It's from the same genus, Diospyros, but it is a different species, virginiana vs. kaki (for the Asian).  American persimmons are small and astringent until ripe; most sites seem to suggest harvesting dropped fruit from the ground rather than trying to pick from the tree.  Persimmons look ripe before they actually are; I tried one years ago  when it was orange, firm, and on the tree.  It did not go well.

American persimmons also typically ripen in late fall.  The unripe one mentioned above was pulled off a tree in November one year.

I do not have any bearing native persimmons, although I have planted a few grafted cultivars.  I do have a friend who has two trees standing side-by-side, male and female (that's convenient).  I was surprised to see persimmons starting to drop early this month.  They looked soft and not firm, so I decided to try one.  It was fine.  The picture above shows some that I picked up the first day.

Since then, they have continued to fall, and are mostly okay.  In my rookie harvesting season, I've concluded that for now, any that have firm spots are probably at least a little astringent.  I haven't had to spit any out, but some have definitely had a bit of residual after-effect.  On the other hand, ones that are turning black or blue are (unsurprisingly) past their prime.

The ground is getting littered with rotting and dessicating persimmons, and they are a hit with nectar-loving insects (bees and butterflies).  They're also forage food for a lot of animals.  The Georgia Forestry Commission sells persimmon seedlings; presumably mostly for hunters who are developing food plots.