Hardy Ornamental Flowering Trees and Shrubs · Chapter 74Diospyros
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DIOSPYROS KAKI COSTATA.—The Date Plum. China, 1789. Fruit as big as a small apple; leaves leathery, entire, and broadly ovate; flowers and fruits in this country when afforded the protection of a wall. The fruit is superior to that of D. virginiana (Persimmon).
D. LOTUS, the common Date Plum, is a European species, with purplish flowers, and oblong leaves that are reddish on the under sides. Both species want a light, warm soil, and sheltered situation.
D. VIRGINIANA.—The Persimmon, or Virginian Date Plum. North America, 1629. A small-growing tree, with coriaceous leaves, and greenish-yellow flowers. In southern situations and by the seaside it is perfectly hardy, and succeeds well, but in other districts it is rather tender. The fruit is edible, yellow in colour, and about an inch in diameter.