Diospyros virginiana In respect to the power of making heartwood, the persimmon rarely develops any heartwood until it is nearly one hundred years old. This heartwood is extremely close-grained and almost black, resembling ebony (of which it is a true variety). It is a common misconception persimmon fruit needs frost to ripen and soften, called bletting. Some, such as the early-ripening varieties "pieper" and "NC21"(also known as "supersweet"), easily lose astringency and become completely free of it when slightly soft at the touch—these are then very sweet, even in the British climate. On the other hand, some varieties (like the very large
Diospyros atrata Diospyros atrata Diospyros atrata, is a tree in the Ebony family. Usually may grow to 25 metres tall. The plant can be seen in subcanopy trees in medium elevation wet evergreen forests between 1000 and 1400 m in Western Ghats- South Sahyadri, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu in India and from Kandy district in Sri Lanka Common names include "Kalu Kenda" in Sinhala language, and "Gusvakendu" in Tamil. The trunk of the plant is buttressed, and the bark is smooth, black, and flaky. Young branchlets are terete, yellowish, with apical and axillary buds are black, and hairy. Leaves of "D. atrata"