The American Persimmon
Tiny fruits, tremendous potential
Deep into the winter’s chill, orange-reddish fruits hang from trees from the Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast of North America. These strange fruits are known as persimmon, and the American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) has called North America home since the Pleistocene era, stretching as far north as Connecticut and Long Island.1 In fact, these unique true berries are often listed as anachronistic plants, similar to others we’ve covered (including Kentucky Coffee Tree, Honey Locust, and Pawpaw), despite the fact we wouldn’t traditionally consider them not belonging to modern ecosystems.2
Although it’s unknown if there was a now-extinct megafaunal seed disperser for the American Persimmon, today, it is too large to be consumed by typical North American dispersers, such as birds. One candidate for dispersal may be the coyote, which consumes persimmon in large quantities.3 Evidence on the coyote is conflicting, and the chances of a carnivore co-evolving with the fruit are unlikely, suggesting that something similar to the Mastadons responsible for the other North American fruits was likely a primary consumer of the American persimmon.
During the Ice Age, the fruit was driven south as far as the Potomac River but has since returned as far north as southern Connecticut (in wild populations), although it will likely continue to march north as climate change continues (and given its capacity to handle cooler climates, as we discussed with Buzz Ferver). Once the megafauna of North America were extinct, these trees have learned to adapt to their new environments and have found a new species to support their regeneration— humans.
The earliest archaeological evidence of persimmon points to consumption at least 3500 years ago around the Mississippian culture— a collection of Indigenous societies that have been considered the most complex pre-Columbian community to exist (we’ve discussed the Adena, but land stewardship by the Mississippi was focused more on wild crops instead of domestication). In two Mississippi sites, refuse pits showed remains of persimmon 80% of the time.4
The Coles Creek culture, for example, which existed in the Lower Mississippi Valley between 700-1000 AD, relied heavily on acorns & pecans as their staple crops, but persimmon was frequently cited as the largest fruit crop as part of their diet, alongside grapes.5
What’s particularly interesting about the Coles Creek people of modern-day Louisiana is that they had a complex fisher-hunter-gatherer society that blended elements of the Mississippian Valley culture, the passive domestication of the same crops of the Eastern Agricultural Complex of the Adena, and despite being exposed to domesticated maize as early as 750, didn’t incorporate it into their diet as a staple until nearly 400 years later between 1000 and 1200. David Lentz argues that this shift wasn’t due to maize’s capacity as a crop but rather increasing pressure from the Lower Mississippi Valey, which valued maize for its role in ritual (and likely as a tool of centralization of power & civilization).
It wasn’t just the Cole Creek people who used persimmons as a staple in their diet—this appeared to be the case across the Lower Mississippi Valley prior to the arrival of maize. Even after the arrival of maize and its centralization within the Mississippi Valley, the persimmon played a central role in the diets of many indigenous groups, such as the Plaquemine, which utilized complex systems that incorporated maize fields alternated with groves of pecan, oak, and persimmon trees along the bottomland along river edges.6, 7
While the fruit was eaten fresh, much of it was stored for winter consumption. The most common method was drying the fruit, which could be consumed, dried, or ground into a powder and added to foods. John Smith described the Powhatan people, who called persimmon ‘putchamins,’ as preserving the persimmons by drying them on mats, similar to the drying process used for elderberries, a practice he referred to as making “Pruines.”8 The dried powder was used to make bread, with corn called “staninca” by the Quapaw, but the bread was made with persimmons and pulp as well (see below).
Another method was to cook the persimmon into a pulp that could be shaped into cakes and dried for preservation.9 Early travelers such as Jacques Gravier and John Bradbury documented these as gifts from Indigenous chiefs, suggesting they were prized and used as a tool of cultural and diplomatic exchange.10,11 Additionally, the pulp could be made into preserves that were mixed with cornmeal or stews.
The Rappahannock and others also used persimmon as a staple ingredient to create a type of beer, often with honey locust or mixed with cornmeal and allowed to ferment. This tradition continued into Appalachian culture until the present, although it has largely lost its historical connection. Beyond the fruit, the leaves were used for tea, and the bark was used for several medical concoctions.
Even after disease had ravaged the continent, when settlers arrived at abandoned settlements, they described how the landscape in the Mississippi region was covered in fruit and nut trees and, depending on the author, treated them as either orchards or simply well-tended wild landscapes.12 It’s because of this that there is debate about whether or not the persimmon was in the process of domestication.
The persimmon has not only been significant for human survival on the continent but has been crucial in supporting native habitats. An aggressive, early succession species, it thrives on the edge of agriculture fields, grows quickly, and has been documented growing up to 6 feet in a year. While we noted the potential role of coyotes in seed dispersal, many mammals consume the fruit itself, including raccoons, opossums, deer, black bears, foxes, and squirrels, especially since the fruit fall from the trees so late into the winter, when few other foods are available.13
Birds also feast on fruits and seeds, although little research has been done to fully document their role in supporting native birds. However, we have at least 45 documented butterfly and moth species that rely on persimmon for survival, as well as numerous bees, both native and non-native.14 Beyond their role as a food source, their dense foliage and spreading branches are particularly valuable for birds and amphibians, who hide beneath the thick layer of leaf litter on the forest floor.
Through the early centuries of colonization, much of the persimmon across the landscape was removed, including many of the managed trees that had fed the Indigenous for generations. Interest waned for decades until the late 19th century, notably the period when Michigan Agricultural College (MAC) focused its efforts on native plants. A young man named James Troop graduated from MAC in 1878, four years before Liberty Hyde Bailey, but they had likely known one another while attending, as Troop remained with the school as a faculty member immediately after graduating.15 Regardless, decades later, they would work together, as Troop managed the Indiana Experimental station while Bailey oversaw national research projects.16 After finishing his Masters at MAC in 1883, he joined Purdue University’s Department of Horticulture, where he’d remain for most of his career and where we would take some of the first steps in the rebirth of interest in the American persimmon
Dr. Troop would go on to conduct extensive research on the American persimmon, from its distribution to propagation methods and cultivation techniques, as well as its potential for improvement. He collaborated with O.M. Hadley, who was in charge of the Agricultural Experiment Substation in Danville, the same substation tied to Bailey’s research, where they collected the best-known cultivars of the time. This collection included Daniel Boone, Early Bearing, Early Golden, Golden Gem, Hicks, Kansas, Shoto, and Smeech. Of all the cultivars, only Early Golden remains available, and the results of their studies on the specific selections don’t seem to have any publications affiliated with them.17
Their collaborative work resulted in the publication of “The American Persimmon” in 1895, the first written piece focused on the potential of the American persimmon in history, outlining its potential and areas of future research.18 It was here that the first evidence of persimmon grafting and discussions about identifying superior varieties to improve fruit production. Dr. Troop believed that, because of the diverse selection of persimmon genetics, it would be possible to develop superior cultivars with bigger fruit, sweeter flavor, and reduced astringency. While this was going on, evaluations had begun by the Horticultural Department of the Kansas Experiment Station, which also doesn’t seem to have any further documentation regarding these studies.
Dr. Troop later went on to work with researchers H.A. Huston & J.M. Barrett to conduct the first known chemical analysis of the American persimmon, which provided the first evidence of the nutritional composition of persimmons, highlighting their value as a potential domesticated crop.19 This became the foundation of all future breeding efforts.
It wouldn’t be until nearly 50 years later that interest would return to the American persimmon, with Professor J.C. McDaniel, who began studying the fruit in 1915 at his childhood home in Alabama.20 We’ve mentioned McDaniel before, as he was involved in some of the limited work around Kentucky Coffee Tree breeding and with the TVA alongside John Hershey. McDaniel worked to select and breed several persimmons, including Craggs, which can still be found today. He was also responsible for the first use of hand-pollination of horticultural improvement and focused on hybridizing the American and Asian persimmon.21
McDaniel wasn’t the only one working with the American persimmon in the early 20th century. George Zimmerman, arguably the most important pawpaw breeder of the period, also worked with the persimmon.
While breeders worked to select improved varieties, annual contests identified numerous new genetic sources for improved persimmons, which has made ‘tracing’ genetic lineages of the selections available today particularly difficult. One competition that has made a lasting mark on American persimmon’s potential is the Mitchell Indiana Persimmon contest, which has had dozens of winners go on to be named. The festival & competition have been so influential that Colonel Sanders (yes, of KFC fame) was an honorary judge in the 1970 competition, and he attempted to use the American persimmon as an ingredient in test kitchens— he just couldn’t get enough pulp!22
Another man, an Illinois attorney named Floyd Sonneman, collected all the best persimmon cultivars he could find, including the winners of the Mitchell Indiana Persimmon contest. Some of these cultivars are now thought to be extinct. Although unnamed, many of these genetics would become important as James Claypool developed his persimmon orchard decades later and are likely part of the University of Illinois persimmon breeding program as well.
In the 1970s, James Claypool, guided by James McDaniel, began what would become the largest American persimmon breeding project in the world. Over the course of almost three decades, Mr. Claypool created thousands of controlled crosses between the best-known cultivars of the time and kept detailed records, which are still available online today. As stated before, many of Claypool’s selections originated from the Mithcell Persimmon festival, including Beavers, the second-place winner from the 1954 competition; Lean, the winner from 1955; Morris Burton, the winner of the 1957 competition; and Yates, the winner of the 1983 competition.
Claypool passed away in 2010, but before his death, he put together a plan for his orchard in St. Elmo, Illinois, which was to be managed by Jerry Lehman, a rare success story of genetics getting passed along.23 Lehman managed the orchard and digitized Claypool’s extensive notes (available here) until his death in 2019.24 Jerry was also responsible for pawpaw breeding work and naming several cultivars himself.
Today, the elders of American persimmon breeding have continued to incorporate new genetics and cross the genetics from generations past, although many are getting older and some have recently passed, such as John Gordon.25 Cliff England in Kentucky, Donald Compton, Lucky Pittman, Buzz Ferver, Ken Asmus, and the Savannah Institute are continuing to work with the same genetics to find improved selections as well as countless others who have quietly continued this work. The Savannah Institute is actively planting tens of thousands of seedlings from known parents in the Compton orchard planted in 2022 that they are beginning to sort through for early vigor characteristics and grafted cultivars from McDaniel, Hershey, Claypool, Lehman, Gordon, and Compton. Given all of the folks who are invested in persimmon breeding, the selections can be overwhelming.
And given how many selections exist, why are people continuing to try to improve— in other words, what’s missing? To answer that question, we have to understand how the genetics of the persimmon work and where its shortfalls as a fruit crop exist.
Persimmons are typically dioecious— meaning that reproduction requires a male tree and a female tree. However, some selections are occasionally capable of producing male, female, or even perfect flowers, which allows for certain varieties to serve as either male or female in a cross. One of the particularly useful findings from Claypool was that pollen from a female cultivate can be used to pollinate another female cultivar, and the progeny of that pollination will be female.26 This allows for some selection pressure to get fruit-producing trees; however, this isn’t the only unique trait of the persimmon.
Another key aspect of persimmon genetics is the existence of two distinct races: tetraploid (60-chromosome) and hexaploid (90-chromosome). These races have different geographic distributions, with the tetraploid race concentrated in the southern Appalachian region and the hexaploid race found north and west of this area, although they overlap a bit in Kentucky (similar to the genetic overlaps of the different ‘lines’ of the pawpaw).27 Dr. Kirk Pomper identified this overlap over at KSU, who we interviewed to discuss pawpaws and persimmons not too long ago.
Each has specific traits. While not conclusive, evidence suggests that tetraploids have superior sweetness and editability. However, fewer commercially available cultivars are derived from the tetraploid race. The ones which exist include ‘Ennis Seedless,’ ‘Sugar Bear,’ ‘Weeping,’ and ‘SFES.’
Hexaploid persimmons, meanwhile, represent the most commercially available cultivars, often exhibiting parthenocarpy. (fruit development without fertilization), leading to seedless fruit. While crossing the two races can also create seedless fruit, the fruit quality is usually worse than either of its parents, which is why the hexaploid selections have been given priority over crosses.28 The oldest selections, ‘Early Golden’ and ‘Meader,’ for example, are hexaploid.
Beyond the fruit, there are other traits worth noting between these two races. For example, tetraploid persimmons tend to grow larger, up to 100 feet, while the hexaploid often doesn’t break north of 25 or so feet (although this is still not fully proven, and some folks disagree that there’s any difference at all—more work needs to be done). Further, one of the other major factors influencing persimmon as a conventional crop is the fruit’s astringency, which is caused by tannins, which decrease as the fruit ripens and softens. Limited research has been done regarding how and why certain fruits are more astringent than others, however at this point it’s believed to be tied to seed development, which would suggest that hexaploid would make sense longer-term in regards to breeding.29
This astringency is also why fruit consumption often happens when the fruit is nearly mush, which isn’t a texture particularly palatable to many Americans. There are a few ways to remove astringency. Simply leaving the fruit on the countertop to ripen seems to be effective if you’re willing to wait and have the counter space. Alternatively, using C02 has been effective with Asian persimmons, although I haven’t seen any evidence of applying this technique to the Americans. A traditional method that hasn’t been explored as much in recent history is nixtamalization, which we covered extensively with acorns. Ultimately, the goal is to make the tannins insoluble. Many of the methods used today rely on creating anaerobic conditions that make the fruit accumulate acetaldehyde, which then reacts with tannins.30
Researchers have continued to find new ways to create these conditions, from alcohol to water soaking and freezing. This is an area where significant trials should be done to assess the most efficient method. As things stand today, freezing is likely the most efficient method for a puree, which would require a minimum of 70 days to be effective with American persimmon, based on the data, while containing the fruit in CO2 for a full day can be done quickly with the added benefit of the fruit remaining firm.31 Other treatments still remain potentially useful, such as mixing with proteins which can bind the tannins, as well as ethanol, and potentially even gelatin, which is used in wine-making to remove harsh astringency. Other research has found that using pectin & Xantham gum can also be effective at removing the tannins.32
Additional research is focused on earlier ripening and fruit hanging through ripeness. One challenge is the late harvest of the fruit, which often falls to the ground before it is fully ripe, making it difficult to harvest and keep clean for consumption. These areas have received less research attention, but as the other parts become fine-tuned, I have no doubt more attention will come to them. Some folks, like Jerry Lehman, believed the future of the American persimmon was in processed goods, meaning skin thickness and non-estringency were primary concerns for future breeding.33
So, if you’re eager to add some persimmon to the landscape, how do you decide, given all the selections available? Here are some thoughts for you:
Early Golden— easily available, reliable, excellent fresh fruit.
(Jerry Lehman) Deer Magnet— if you’re looking for a landscape tree for wildlife.
(James Claypool) Early Jewell / H-118 — very early, large fruit size, consistent bearer
(James Claypool) H-120— very clear, juicy pulp with high-quality fruit and good presentation for sale
(Jerry Lehman) 100-46— large fruit, smooth flesh, clear pulp, small tree with heavy production and great flavor.
(Jerry Lehman) 100-47— hard to find, but consistently considered one of the best fruits with large fruit.
(James Claypool) H-63A— offers an interesting rum/carmelized sugar flavor profile
Wes Rice H-69A Osage— large fruit, good flavor, good for processing as pulp or jam
(John Gordon) Prok— consistently rated one of the best-tasting of the American persimmons out of hand
Ultimately, research continues to reduce the need to process the fruit this extensively, produce bigger fruit with fewer seeds, and work to create earlier ripening and developing fruit that hangs on the fruit through ripening. Despite these areas of improvement, the fruit is fast-growing, nutritionally dense, and has little insect pressure. It can grow in a wide range of conditions, from dry soils to wet bottomlands from Canada to Georgia. I owe an incredible amount of debt to the folks over at the GrowingFruit forums, where they’ve been incredibly helpful in trying to get a handle on the volume of data on American persimmon breeding. I’ve also begun building a “family tree”, which remains to be completed due to the significant volume of species, but I am happy to share what does exist to date.
If you’ve enjoyed this piece, which is equal to a 17-page chapter of (so far) a 1375-page book with 1093 sources, you can support our work in several ways. The first is by sharing this article with folks you think would find it interesting. Second, you can listen to the audio version of this article in episode #242 of the Poor Proles Almanac wherever you get your podcasts. If you’d like to financially support the project and get exclusive access to our limited paywalled content, you can become a paid subscriber on Substack or Patreon, which will both give you access to the paywalled content and, in the case of Patreon, early access to the audio episodes as well.
Roehm, Katherine, and Matthew D. Moran. "Is the Coyote (Canis latrans) a Potential Seed Disperser for the American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)?" The American Midland Naturalist, vol. 169, no. 2, Apr. 2013, pp. 416–21.
Janzen, D. H., & Martin, P. S. (1982). Neotropical Anachronisms: The Fruits the Gomphotheres Ate. Science, 215(4528), 19–27. doi:10.1126/science.215.4528.19
CYPHER, B. L. AND E. A. CYPHER. 1999. Germination Rates of Tree Seeds Ingested by Coyotes and Raccoons. Am. Midl. Nat., 142(1):71–76. GOMPPER, M. E. 2002.
Ross, Nanci J., et al. "The Ecological Side of an Ethnobotanical Coin: Legacies in Historically Managed Trees." American Journal of Botany, vol. 101, no. 10, Oct. 2014, pp. 1618–30.
Lentz, David L., editor. Imperfect Balance: Landscape Transformations in the Precolumbian Americas. Columbia University Press, 2000
Fritz, G. J., and T. R. Kidder. 1993. Recent investigations into prehistoric agriculture in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Southeastern Archaeology 12: 1–14.
Fritz, G.J. 1994. Coles Creek and Plaquemine landscapes. Paper presented to the 51st Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Lexington, Ky
Jackson, Charlotte R. Why Study Persimmons?: Foraging for American Identities Through the Writings of Forgotten Fruit Overtime. Senior Thesis, Georgetown University, 2020
Peterson, Lee Allen 1977 Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, New York.
Gravier, Jacques. “1900. Relation or journal of the voyage of Father Gravier, of the Society of Jesus, in 1700, from the country of the Illinois to the mouth of the Mississipi [sic] River [1701].” In: R. G. Thwaites, ed. 1896–1901. The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents: Travels and Explorations of the Jesuit Missionaries in New France, 1610–1791. 73 vols. Cleveland, Ohio: The Burrows Brothers Company.
Bradbury, John. Bradbury’s Travels in the Interior of American, 1809-1811. A.H. Clark Company, n.d. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/236193
HARRIOT , T. 1590 . A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia . In 1972 reprint with an introduction by P. Hulton, Dover, New York, USA.
CHAMBERS, JEANNE. C. AND J. A. MACMAHON. 1994. A day in the life of a seed: Movements and fates of seeds and their implications for natural and managed systems. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 25:263–292.
https://news.maryland.gov/dnr/2017/09/01/habichat-persimmon/
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.94.2448.507.a
Rodgers, A. D. (1965). Liberty Hyde Bailey; A story of American plant sciences. Hafner Pub. Co.
Raymond, John W. The Horticultural Improvement of the American Persimmon, NNGA: The Nutshell 2006.
THE AMERICAN PERSIMMON. A preliminary bulletin on its habits, distribution in Indiana, methods of propagation and cultivation, and suggestions concerning its improvement. BY JAMES TROOP AND O. M. HADLEY.
COMPOSITION OF THE PERSIMMON. BY H. A. HUSTON AND J. M. BARRETT.
McDaniel, J.C. Persimmons in Illinois. Pomona in Review 1970, 60- 62.
McDaniel, J.C. Selfing and Hybridizing Persimmons. NNGA Annual Report 1969, 60, 102-104.
Talbott, J.E. Some Major Possibilities for a Minor Fruit. NNGA Annual Report 1972, 63, 103-105.
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/james-claypool-obituary?id=27692231
https://www.debaunfuneralhomes.com/obituary/Jerome-Lehman
https://alanbishop.proboards.com/thread/6716/john-gordon-passed-away
Claypool, J. Improving the American Persimmon. Pomona 1995, 28, 76.
Pomper, Kirk W., et al. "Ploidy Level in American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) Cultivars." HortScience, vol. 54, no. 11, Nov. 2019, pp. 1945–50, https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI14274-19.
Choi, Y., R. Tao, K. Yonemori, and A. Sugiura. 2003. Genomic distribution of three repetitive DNAs in cultivated hexaploid Diospyros spp. (D. kaki and D. virginiana) and their wild relatives. Genes Genet. Syst. 78:301–308.
Yesiloglu, Turgut, et al. "Genetic Diversity and Breeding of Persimmon." Genetic Diversity and Breeding of Underutilized Fruit Crops, edited by M. R. Foolad, IntechOpen, 2018, doi:10.5772/intechopen.74977.
Besada, C. & Salvador, Alejandra. (2011). Tannins of persimmon fruit: Artificial removal of astringency. Tannins: Types, Foods Containing, and Nutrition. 217-230.
https://om.ciheam.org/om/pdf/a51/02600062.pdf
Yoko Tsurunaga, Tetsuya Takahashi, Mina Kanou, Misaki Onda, Mika Ishigaki, Removal of astringency from persimmon paste via polysaccharide treatment, Heliyon, Volume 8, Issue 9, 2022, e10716, ISSN 2405-8440, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10716.
https://growingfruit.org/t/name-your-30-best-american-persimmons/59420/64