Diospyros virginiana Diospyros virginiana Diospyros virginiana is a persimmon species commonly called the American persimmon, common persimmon, eastern persimmon, "simmon", "possumwood", "possum apples", or "sugar-plum". It ranges from southern Connecticut/Long Island to Florida, and west to Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa. The tree grows wild but has been cultivated for its fruit and wood since prehistoric times by Native Americans. "Diospyros virginiana" grows through , in well-drained soil. In summer, this species produces fragrant flowers which are dioecious, so one must have both male and female plants to obtain fruit. Most cultivars are parthenocarpic (setting seedless fruit without pollination). The flowers
Diospyros "Zeus's wheat" but more generally intends "divine food" or "divine fruit". Muddled translations sometimes give rise to curious and inappropriate interpretations such as "God's pear" and "Jove's fire". The genus is a large one and the number of species has been estimated variously, depending on the date of the source. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, list has over 1000 entries, including synonyms and items of low confidence. Over 700 species are marked as being assigned with high confidence. The leaves of "Diospyros blancoi" have been shown to contain isoarborinol methyl ether (also called cylindrin) and fatty esters of α- and