Persimmon Persimmon The persimmon (sometimes spelled persimon) is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus "Diospyros". The most widely cultivated of these is the Asian or Japanese persimmon, "Diospyros kaki". "Diospyros" is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-persimmon species of the genus are grown for ebony timber. The word "Diospyros" comes from the ancient Greek words "dios" ("δῐος") and "pyron" ("πῡρον"). A popular etymology construed this as "divine fruit", or as meaning "wheat of Zeus" or "God's pear" and "Jove's fire". The dio-, as shown by the short vowel 'i' has nothing
Diospyros tessellaria in London. This species is one of eleven surviving species of Ebony tree which naturally occur on Mauritius - all of them endemic. Diospyros tessellaria Diospyros tessellaria (black ebony, bois d'ebene noir or Mauritian ebony) is a species of tree in the family Ebenaceae. The tree is one of several ebony species endemic to the island of Mauritius in the western Indian Ocean, and was once the most common, widespread ebony species of that island. The massive, slow-growing, evergreen tree can reach up to in height. The thick leaves have a dark green surface and a slightly paler underside. A