September 27, 2025
Persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) are quite common up here. That is in part because this fruit is a favorite of Black Bears (Ursus americanus), which helps in the distribution of its seeds. The fruit looks like this right now. I generally see them growing to be 1 to 1.5 inch diameter little round balls.
A couple weeks later in the season, the fruit will take on a brighter rich orange color and then on to an orange-purple color and begin dropping to the ground. Look for that color to know that they are ripe.
The native range of these Persimmons is from southern Connecticut clear south to Florida, and west to Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa.
These are not the larger Persimmons that you see in the grocery store. Those are Asian Persimmons (Diospyros kaki) which grow to 3 to 5 inches in diameter.
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