Diospyros thus avoided by most herbivores; when ripe they are eagerly eaten by many animals however, such as the rare Aders' duiker ("Cephalophus adersi"). The foliage is used as food by the larvae of numerous Lepidoptera species: Arctiidae: Geometridae: Limacodidae: Lycaenidae: Nymphalidae: Saturniidae: Tortricidae: An economically significant plant pathogen infecting many "Diospyros" species – "D. hispida", kaki persimmon ("D. kaki"), date-plum ("D. lotus"), Texas persimmon ("D. texana"), Coromandel ebony ("D. melanoxylon") and probably others – is the sac fungus "Pseudocercospora kaki", which causes a leaf spot disease. The genus includes several plants of commercial importance, either for their edible fruit (persimmons)
Diospyros ovalifolia canopy layer of the forest, they are known as canopy trees. The plant is known as: Flowering and fruiting is usually in between March–August. Diospyros ovalifolia Diospyros ovalifolia, known as bastard ebony, is a tree in the family, Ebenaceae (Ebony family), endemic to the leeward side of South Sahyadri of Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka. Full grown trees usually stand 12m tall. Young branches are sparse-adpressed hairy. Leaves are simple, alternate, and distichous. Petiole is 0.5-1.0 cm long, canaliculate and glabrous. Lamina is 5-13 x 1.5–5 cm, usually narrow obovate. The leaf is coriaceous and glabrous with entire