Comments
provided by eFloras
Native of NE China, cultivated and naturalised elsewhere. Cultivated in the Hazara region, in Swat, Murree and Kurram at ±1500 m. Found as an escape in Hazara. Also recorded from Chitral and Baluchistan (Rech. f.,l.c.). Apparently wild in Poonch, Azad Kashmir (Stewart, l.c.). The ripe fruit is dried and eaten; it contains a high percentage of tannin.
- license
- cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Description
provided by eFloras
Tree, 2-10 (-20) m tall. Stems pubescent or glabrous. Leaves petiolate, 45-110x 19-66 mm, elliptic or broadly lanceolate, acuminate, base sometimes rounded, margin usually undulate; pubescent on both sides or on the lower, pubescent on the veins. Petiole 4-10 mm, pubescent. Flowers sessile to very shortly pedicellate. Pedicels densely pubescent. Male flowers in 2-3-flowered cymes, female solitary and larger than the male. Male flowers: calyx c. 2.5 mm long, 4(-5) lobed; lobes triangular, obtuse to subacute, pubescent and ciliate, hairy inside. Corolla yellowish-brown red, c. 7 mm long, lobes rounded., ciliate, reflexed. Stamens 16, in 2 opposite rows; filaments very short; anthers 3 mm long, connective pilose; ovary rudimentary. Female flower: Calyx persistent; staminodes 8, in 1 row. Ovary glabrous below, apically hairy; styles 4(-6), persistent. Berry globose to ovoid, 13-22 mm in diameter, mealy-white when unripe, dark purple to black when ripe, glaucous. Seed c. 11 mm long, brown-black, laterally compressed.
- license
- cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Description
provided by eFloras
Trees, deciduous. Bark grayish black to grayish brown. Petiole 0.7--1.5 cm; leaf blade elliptic to ovate-oblong, 5--13 X 2.5--6 cm, submembranous, abaxially drying green or glaucous and with dark veinlets, base obtuse, broadly cuneate, or subrounded, apex acuminate to acute, lateral veins 7--10 per side, reticulate veinlets clearly defined, flat, and dark. Male flowers 1--3 together; pedicel to 6 mm; calyx lobes 4(or 5); corolla reddish to pale yellow, urn-shaped, ca. 4 mm, lobes 4; stamens 16. Female flowers subsessile, pale green to reddish; calyx lobes 4; corolla urn-shaped, ca. 6 mm, lobes 4 or rarely 5; staminodes 8; ovary 8-locular, glabrous except for apex; styles 4. Fruiting calyx lobes 4, ovate, apex obtuse. Berries pale yellow, becoming bluish black with a glaucous bloom, subglobose to ellipsoid, 1--2 cm in diam. Seeds brown, compressed, ca. 10 X 6 mm in diam. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Oct-Nov.
- license
- cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Distribution
provided by eFloras
W. Asia to China and Korea, cultivated elsewhere.
- license
- cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Distribution
provided by eFloras
Distribution: Mediterranean region, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China and Japan.
- license
- cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Distribution
provided by eFloras
Anhui, Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [SW Asia, W Asia, S Europe, naturalized in countries around the Mediterranean]
- license
- cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Elevation Range
provided by eFloras
1000 m
- license
- cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Flower/Fruit
provided by eFloras
Fl. Per.: May June. Fr. Per.: Oct.-Nov.
- license
- cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Habitat
provided by eFloras
500--2500 m.
- license
- cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Date-plum
provided by wikipedia EN
Diospyros lotus, with common names date-plum, Caucasian persimmon, or lilac persimmon, is a widely cultivated species of the genus Diospyros, native to subtropical southwest Asia and southeast Europe. Its English name derives from the small fruit, which have a taste reminiscent of both plums and dates. It is among the oldest plants in cultivation.
Distribution and ecology
The species area extends from East Asia to the west of the Mediterranean, down to Spain. The date-plum is native to southwest Asia and southeast Europe. It was known to the ancient Greeks as "God's fruit" (Διός πυρός, Diós pŷrós), hence the scientific name of the genus. Its English name probably derives from Persian Khormaloo خرمالو literally "date-plum", referring to the taste of this fruit which is reminiscent of both plums and dates. The fruit is called Amlok املوک in Pakistan and consumed dried. This species is one candidate for the "lotus tree" mentioned in The Odyssey: it was so delicious that those who ate it forgot about returning home and wanted to stay and eat lotus with the lotus-eaters.[2]
The tree grows in the lower and middle mountain zones in the Caucasus. They usually grow up to 600 m above sea level. In Central Asia, it rises higher—up to 2000 m. They rarely grow in stands but often grow with hackberry, ash, maple and other deciduous species. It is not demanding on the soil and can grow on rocky slopes but requires a well lit environment.
It is cultivated at the limits of its range, as well as in the U.S. and North Africa.
Biological description
This is a tree height of 15–30 m with sloughing of aging bark.
The leaves are shiny, leathery, oval-shaped with pointed ends, 5–15 cm long and 3–6 cm in width.
The flowers are small, greenish, appearing in June to July.
Fruits are berries with juicy flesh, yellow when ripe, 1–2 cm in diameter. Seeds with thin skin and a very hard endosperm.
Usage
Caucasian persimmon fruits are edible and contain much sugar, malic acid, and vitamins. They are used as fresh fruits or after frost, but usually dried. Drying and frost destroy their tartness.
References
- license
- cc-by-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Wikipedia authors and editors
Date-plum: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
Diospyros lotus, with common names date-plum, Caucasian persimmon, or lilac persimmon, is a widely cultivated species of the genus Diospyros, native to subtropical southwest Asia and southeast Europe. Its English name derives from the small fruit, which have a taste reminiscent of both plums and dates. It is among the oldest plants in cultivation.
- license
- cc-by-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Wikipedia authors and editors
