Here is a tree I would grow, if I had the space, and if nurseries stocked it. The date plum. It is a persimmon: Diospyros lotus. I first met it two years ago at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, when I tasted it, ripe (below). I noticed the tree again on Friday, when I saw the unripe, powdery green fruit loading the branches. It is thought that the (very ripe) fruit may have been the source of Homer's Lotus Eaters, in his Odyssey. The Chinese call these persimmons black dates and I have seen them dried, in Chinatown.
The fat orange persimmons we see in early winter trays at greengrocers are probably mostly cultivars of Diospyros kaki, and there is a native American persimmon, too - Diospyros virginiana. Ebony is the heartwood of a tropical persimmon - Diospyros ebenum.
When ripe the small sweet date plums - about the size of a fat thimble - are as freshly sweet as chewable toffee. I'll visit again when the weather turns cold.
And if it does not rain on us, I'll lead my foraging walkers past the tree early this afternoon. It deserves to be better known.
And if it does not rain on us, I'll lead my foraging walkers past the tree early this afternoon. It deserves to be better known.
What fruit would you grow, if you could?
Wisteria and jasmine, draped over the house, dripping with flowers, fragrance and happy bees. Noordhoek wind forbids it.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have an avocado tree, I eat one everyday, and would love to be able to grow them. I guess a move to California is in my future. :)
ReplyDeleteA big huge lemon tree, or pomegranate, or grapefruit, or banana. However not possible to grow here in the Pacific Northwest.
ReplyDeleteA Cape Rough lemon, preferably right by the kitchen door, And a "Paw Paw" - Papaya..........but as I am in Denmark I'll settle for a quince.
ReplyDeleteMontgomery cherries and lemons.
ReplyDeleteAnd perhaps apricots.
Blueberries and cherries! :)
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, such a good question. We have peaches, Asian pears, Fuji apples and a few pineapple guava. I think I would have an orange tree if they weren't so sensitive to temperature. We also have a pomegranate and perhaps I should add an avocado. Until and unless our drought conditions change, we aren't adding more trees.
ReplyDeletePersimmon. My all time favourite.
ReplyDeletePeaches, sweet grapes and pomegranates. Med, here I come! : )
ReplyDeleteThose yellow/orange peaches you can only get in syrup - we had a tree growing up and they are so good fresh (maybe any peach)! and granadilla (I've tried and failed), and loquats
ReplyDeleteI thought I purchased a fuju persimmon tree in spring of 2011 (before leaves). Last year, it had those tiny date-plum sized fruits, and the nursery woman where i bought it said she'd never seen anything like it. Her grower emailed that persimmons do this from time to time when the weather is weird. Well, this year is the same, and I've learned that it is in fact d. lotus persimmon date plum, which is used as root stock for fuju. The graft died, and I'm left with a very beautiful tree, but disappointed that it is not fuju.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any idea how tall and wide it will get? I don't have a lot of room. Have been unable to learn this on the web. Appreciate your help!
The only specimen I have seen is this one, an old small-medium sized tree, about 25'. No different, I believe, from Fuju.
DeleteWe have this lovely date plum growing in our yard. We have an abundance of them during the late summer. We also have a persimmon tree that is sister to our date plum tree. We get so many fruit every other year. We are a few stops away in Brooklyn. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in either fruits during the late summer. Reserve now. We often sell them or gift them to friends before they go bad!
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine - that's wonderful. I'd love to contact you. How do I do that?
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