Gaboon persimmon
Diospyros dendo

Family: Ebenaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows about 15 m high and has a trunk about 1 m across. The trunk can be twisted and fluted. The bark is like a guava tree. It is smooth and falls in thin papery scales. The leaves are up to 18 cm long and 7 cm wide. The male flowers are crowded into 5-12 flowered flat topped arrangement. The female flowers are almost stalkless and in clusters of 2-5. The fruit is about 1.2 cm across. They are dark red. It is surrounded by a calyx with 4-5 large lobes. They are triangular with very wavy margins.

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

Where it is found

A tropical plant.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, West Africa

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

In Central African Republic plants fruit in May.

Its other names

Local names

Dendo, Igi-dudu

Synonyms

Diospyros atropurpurea Gurke; Diospyros flavescens Gurke; Diospyros mimfiensis Gurke; Diospyros nyagensis Pellegr.; Diospyros temvoensis De Wild.;