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 crassiflora Diospyros crassiflora Diospyros crassiflora, commonly known as Gabon ebony, African ebony, West African ebony, and Benin ebony, is a species of lowland-rainforest tree in the family Ebenaceae that is endemic to Western Africa. It is named after the West African state of Gabon, though it also occurs in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria. The wood this particular tree produces is believed to be the blackest of all timber-producing "Diospyros" species, and the heartwood from this tree has been in extremely high demand since ancient Egyptian times. It is hard and