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 malabarica in Thailand. Both the bark of the tree and the unripe fruit have medicinal uses in Ayurveda. This tree was mentioned as "Tinduka" by Sanskrit writers. Unripe leaves and fruits were traditionally used to dye cloth black. Diospyros malabarica Diospyros malabarica, the gaub tree, Malabar ebony, black-and-white ebony or pale moon ebony, is a species of flowering tree in the family Ebenaceae that is native to the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia. It is a long-lived, very slow-growing tree, which can reach up to 35 m in height with a black trunk up to 70 cm in diameter. The