Diospyros kaki

Diospyros kaki Thunb.

a kaki tree in Japan

Order	Ericales
Family	Ebenaceae
Genus	Diospyros

2n = 6x = 90

Origin : subtropical China

cultivated

English	{{{english}}}
French	{{{french}}}

Description

• 
  flower
• 
  end of flowering
• green fruit
  green fruit
• 
  tree in autumn

Popular names

• English: persimmon
• French: kaki

see more European common names

• Hindi: halwa tendu
• Assam: dieng-iong, soh-tang-jong
• Japanese: kaki
• Chinese: shì
• Indonesia: kesemek, buah kaki (PROSEA)
• Malaysia: buah kaki, buah samak (PROSEA)
• Cambodia: tonloëp (PROSEA)
• Thailand: phlap chin (central) (PROSEA)
• Vietnam: thi, hông (PROSEA)

Classification

Diospyros kaki Thunb. (1780)

synonyms:

• non Diospyros kaki L.f. (1781)
• Diospyros chinensis Blume (1823), nom. nudum

upper fruit: non astringent, unripe (left) and mellowed (right);
lower fruit:astringent, unripe (left) and mellowed (right). (Vineyard)

The pomological classification recognizes four groups:

PCA Group (Pollination constant astringent)

The fruit pulp is not influenced by pollination. The fruit is unedible when harvested, and must become mushy to be traded and eaten, which makes it difficult to handle. Known cultivars are 'Costata' and 'Lycopersicon' in Italy, and 'Hachiya' (conical), 'Tamopan' and 'Tane-nashi' (spherical) in California.

PCNA Group (Pollination constant non astringent)

The fruit is not astringent (even if seedless), and can be eaten when still crisp, as an apple. Israel sells it as 'Sharon fruit', and it is known in French as kaki-pomme. A common cultivar is 'Fuyu' or 'Fuyugaki'.

PVA Group (Pollination variable astringent)

Parthenocarpic fruits, or fruits with few seeds, have a pale and astringent pulp. Pollinated fruits with many seeds have a pulp which turns brown and loses its astringence. Cultivated in Italy ('Kaki Tipo') and California ('Hyakume', 'Okame', 'Yemon', 'Yeddo-ichi'). Commercial names often refer to chocolate, cinnamon or brown sugar.

PVNA Group (Pollination variable non astringent)

The fruit remains astringent. 'Aizumishirazu', 'Hiratanenashi'

Cultivars

• 
  Sharon fruit
• 
  Fuyu
• 
  Kesemek from Indonesia

History

The probable progenitor of this hexaploid species is the wild diploid species Diospyros roxburghii Carr. (1872) (2n = 30).

Uses

• 
  Kakibase, house to make anpogaki), a sulfur-dried Persimmon, made in Fukushima (Japan)
• 
  at Kanzo yashiki ("licorice house"), Koshu city, Yamanashi (Japan)
• 
  Drying persimmon in Japan
• 
  dried gotgam persimmons in Korea
• 
  hanging for drying in front of an old house near Daedunsan (Korea)
• 
  in Xi'an, China

Ethnology

Bird on a Persimmon Tree, by Watanabe Shotei

cv. Hachiya; watercolor by Amanda Newton (USDA, 1887)

References

• Drouet François. Classification actuelle des variétés de Diospyros kaki. on line (fr).
• Evreinoff V.-A., 1948. Le Plaqueminier du Japon ou Kaki. Fruits d'Outre-Mer, 3(4), 124-132.on line (fr).
• Ragazzini Domenico, 1983. La coltivazione del kaki. Bologna, Edagricole. 164 p. (Coll. Frutticoltura moderna).
• Sugiura A. & Taira S., 2009. Dried persimmon production in Japan. in Proc. IVth International Symposium on Persimmon (eds. E. Bellini & E. Giordani). Acta Hort., 833: 71-76.
• PROSEA 2, 1991. Plant resources of South-East Asia. vol. 2. Edible fruits and nuts. ed. by E.W.M. Verheij & R.E. Coronel. Wageningen, PUDOC/PROSEA. (Bogor, PROSEA, 1992). 447 p.
• Wealth of India (The), 1952. A dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Vol. 3. Raw materials : D-E. New-Delhi, Council of scientific and industrial research. XX-236-XXX p., 22 pl., index vol. 1-3.

Links

• EOL
• IPNI
• GRIN
• Mansfeld
• NewCrop Purdue
• PROSEA on Pl@ntUse
• Prota4U
• PROTA on Pl@ntUse