American Persimmon, Fernhill Park

American persimmon tree, also known as common persimmon, eastern persimmon, or just simmon; Diospyros virginiana, Diospyros from the Greek word for god’s fruit or divine fruit.

Also called possumwood or possum apple, the possum being such a frequent diner of the tree that even John James Audubon included the fruit on his illustrated plate for the great beast. Note that in his illustration the possum is eating the fruit well into the winter; twigs are leafless and fruit looks old, wrinkled, past its prime. For persimmons, those are signs of ripeness. They are only ripe and palatable, even to possums, when they are soft to the touch and mushy on the inside. According to Captain John Smith, “if it be not ripe, it will draw a man’s mouth awrie with much torment.”

Leaves are alternate, single lobed, and quite ordinary. Flowers are small, not showy, and grow very tight to the twig.

Along with its unique native fruit, this tree’s most distinct characteristic is its thick, blocky bark, often compared to charcoal briquettes.

It has a scarce population in Philadelphia, so uncommon that each one is noteworthy and special. I’ve never observed any in the woods but supposedly they’re present. I found one in the Woodlands Cemetery in University City and, featured below, one more in Fernhill Park in the Southwest Germantown neighborhood, a big park that has other notable trees to count among its residents. That’s my complete list for Philadelphia, those two. I’d love to learn of more. Like the osage orange, I’d like to keep a record of every persimmon in Philadelphia. The most persimmons I’ve ever seen in one place was at the Cape May Wildlife Refuge.

Most persimmon recipes use the Asian varieties which are typically a much larger fruit and more commercially available.

Feb. 2024