Japanese Persimmon, Chinese Persimmon, Oriental Persimmon                        dee-OS-pi-ros KAH-ki

• Deciduous tree, 15-30 ft tall, similar width, drooping branches and leaves, upright to round headed.  Leaves alternate, simple, elliptic-ovate to oblong or obovate, 6-18 cm long, base usually broad-wedge shaped (cuneate), leathery, glossy dark green above, lighter green and pubescent below; fall color vivid yellow-orange-red.  Dioecious - male and female trees, male (staminate) flowers pink-tinged, in 3's, about 1 cm long, 16-24 stamens; female (pistilate) flowers, 1.5-1.8 cm long, pubescent.  Fruit ovoid to slightly flattened sphere, 3.5-7 cm across, orange to bright yellow, edible.
• Sun, adaptable to many soils, best with good drainage.  Makes a good small shade tree, suitable for espalier.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 7          Native to China, where it has been cultivated for centuries, spread to Korea and Japan.  Introduced into Europe in 1789 and into California in the mid 1800's.  Several thousand cultivars exist, some are parthenocarpic, (produce seedless fruit without pollination).  Cultivars are classified into two general groups: those that bear astringent fruit until they are soft-ripe and those that produce nonastringent fruits that are hard when ripe, similar to apples.
• kaki:  the Japanese name.