Chinese persimmon
Diospyros sintenisii

Family: Ebenaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 10-15 m tall. The trunk is 15 cm across. The bark is dark grey. Young twigs are hairy. The leaves are simple and alternate. The leaves are narrowly oval and 5-15 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. They are rounded at the tip and narrowed to the base. They are dark green above and dull light green underneath. The male and female flowers are separate. The male flowers are in groups of 3. Female flowers occur singly. The fruit are a flattened round shape. The fruit are green but turn dark red when ripe. There are 3 lobes with a seed in each.

There are about 485 species of Diospyros mostly in the tropics.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows between 60-1,150 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Caribbean, Puerto Rico, West Indies

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Guayabota nispero, Mucaro, Tabeiba

Synonyms

Maba sintenisii Krug. & Urb.;