Diospyros

Diospyros

▪ plant genus
      genus of some 500 species of trees and shrubs of the ebony family (Ebenaceae), either deciduous or evergreen, most of which are native to the tropics. The leaves, which lack teeth, are usually borne alternately on opposite sides of the twig. The fruit is a large juicy berry with 1 to 10 seeds. Some members of the genus are valuable for their timber, particularly several species of ebony. Others are cultivated for their handsome foliage or edible fruit. Chief among the latter are the common, or American, persimmon (D. virginiana), native to North America, and the Japanese, or kaki, persimmon (D. kaki), native to China but widely cultivated in other temperate regions. The globular orange fruit of D. virginiana is about 4 cm (1.5 inches) in diameter. The tree grows about 10 to 12 metres (33 to 40 feet) tall and bears yellowish white, bell-shaped flowers. D. kaki grows 12 metres (39 feet) tall or more and bears yellowish white flowers and orange-red fruit about 7.5 cm (3 inches) in diameter. Several hundred varieties of D. kaki have been developed. Other species include the date plum (D. lotus), the black sapote (D. digyna), and the mabola (D. discolor), the last being cultivated for its tasty fruit, which is dark red to purple.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Diospyros — chloroxylon Scientific classification Kingdom …   Wikipedia

  • Diospyros — Kaki Früchte: Beeren mit den vergrößerten Kelchblättern. Systematik Kerneudikotyledonen A …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Diospyros — Diospyros …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Diospȳros — (D. L.), Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Ebenaceae, 2. Ordn. 23. Kl. L.; Arten: D. Ebenum, in Ceylon, D. tessellaria, auf den Mascarenhas, D. melanoxylon, in Ostindien, welche alle, so wie Maba Ebenus, das Ebenholz liefern sollen; D.… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • diospyros — ● diospyros nom masculin (grec diospuros) Nom générique des ébéniers et plaqueminiers …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • DIOSPYROS — apud Plin. l. 27. c. XI. ex Graeo Διὸς πυρὸς, Iovis frumentum, genus cerasi, quod Romanis duracinum, Gallis bigarreau dicitur. Huic enim principatum ii, nen secus ac Romani, inter cetera dedêre, unde tam nobile nomen. Quemadmodum iidem Διὸς… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Diospyros —   Diospyros …   Wikipedia Español

  • Diospyros — Diospyros …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Diospyros — noun a genus of trees or shrubs that have beautiful and valuable wood • Syn: ↑genus Diospyros • Hypernyms: ↑dicot genus, ↑magnoliopsid genus • Member Holonyms: ↑Ebenaceae, ↑family Ebenaceae, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • Diospyros — ID 27547 Symbol Key DIOSP Common Name diospyros Family Ebenaceae Category Dicot Division Magnoliophyta US Nativity N/A US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution AL, AR, CA, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY,… …   USDA Plant Characteristics

  • Diospyros — Ironwood I ron*wood , n. (Bot.) A tree unusually hard, strong, or heavy wood. [1913 Webster] Note: In the United States, the hornbeam and the hop hornbeam are so called; also the {Olneya Tesota}, a small tree of Arizona; in the West Indies, the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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