The Ericales are a large and diverse order of dicotyledons. Species in this order have considerable commercial importance including for tea, persimmon, blueberry, kiwifruit, Brazil nuts, argan, and azalea. The order includes trees, bushes, lianas, and herbaceous plants. Together with ordinary autophytic plants, the Ericales include chlorophyll-deficient mycoheterotrophic plants and carnivorous plants.
The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros. The most widely cultivated of these is the kaki persimmon, Diospyros kaki – Diospyros is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-persimmon species of the genus are grown for ebony timber. In 2019, China produced 75% of the world total of persimmons.
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus Diospyros, which also includes the persimmon tree. A few Diospyros species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is finely textured and has a mirror finish when polished, making it valuable as an ornamental wood. It is often cited as one of the most expensive woods in the world.
The Ebenaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to order Ericales. The family includes ebony and persimmon among about 768 species of trees and shrubs. It is distributed across the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world. It is most diverse in the rainforests of Malesia, India, Thailand, tropical Africa and tropical America.
Diospyros is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber, are commonly known as ebony trees, while others are valued for their fruit and known as persimmon trees. Some are useful as ornamentals and many are of local ecological importance. Species of this genus are generally dioecious, with separate male and female plants.
Diospyros virginiana is a persimmon species commonly called the American persimmon, common persimmon, eastern persimmon, simmon, possumwood, possum apples, or sugar plum. It ranges from southern Connecticut to Florida, and west to Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa. The tree grows wild but has been cultivated for its fruit and wood since prehistoric times by Native Americans.
Diospyros melanoxylon, the Coromandel ebony or East Indian ebony, is a species of flowering tree in the family Ebenaceae native to India and Sri Lanka; it has a hard, dry bark. Its common name derives from Coromandel, the coast of southeastern India. Locally it is known as temburini or by its Hindi name tendu. In Odisha, Jharkhand, and Assam, it is known as kendu. In Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana it is known as tuniki. The leaves can be wrapped around tobacco to create the Indian beedi, which has outsold conventional cigarettes in India. The olive-green fruit of the tree is edible.
Diospyros mespiliformis, the jackalberry, is a large dioecious evergreen tree found mostly in the savannas of Africa. Jackals are fond of the fruit, hence the common names. It is a member of the family Ebenaceae, and is related to the true ebony and edible persimmon.
Diospyros nigra, the black sapote, is a species of persimmon. Common names include chocolate pudding fruit, black soapapple and zapote prieto. The tropical fruit tree is native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. The common name sapote refers to any soft, edible fruit. Black sapote is not related to white sapote nor mamey sapote. The genus Diospyros has numerous other fruit bearing tree species in addition to the persimmons and black sapote.
Diospyros kaki, the Oriental persimmon, Chinese persimmon, Japanese persimmon or kaki persimmon, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Diospyros. Although its first botanical description was not published until 1780, D. kaki cultivation in China dates back more than 2000 years.
Diospyros blancoi,, commonly known as velvet apple, velvet persimmon, kamagong, or mabolo tree, is a tree of the genus Diospyros of ebony trees and persimmons. It produces edible fruit with a fine, velvety, reddish-brown fur-like covering. The fruit has a soft, creamy, pink flesh, with a taste and aroma comparable to peaches.
Kaeng Krachan National Park is the largest national park of Thailand. It is on the border with Burma, contiguous with the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve. It is a popular park owing to its proximity to the tourist town of Hua Hin. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 26 July 2021, despite concerns from the OHCHR around the human rights violations of the indigenous people that live in the park.
Diospyros texana is a species of persimmon that is native to central, south and west Texas and southwest Oklahoma in the United States, and eastern Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. Common names include Texas persimmon, Mexican persimmon and the more ambiguous "black persimmon". It is known in Spanish as chapote, chapote manzano, or chapote prieto, all of which are derived from the Nahuatl word tzapotl. That word also refers to several other fruit-bearing trees.
Diospyros mabacea, the red-fruited ebony is a rare rainforest tree in the ebony or persimmon family growing in north eastern New South Wales. Listed as endangered by extinction.
Diospyros seychellarum, locally known as bwa sagay, is a rare endemic plant from the Seychelles. It occurs on the islands of Mahé, Praslin, Silhouette and Felicite. It is locally known as bwa sagay.
Diospyros abyssinica is a tree species in the family Ebenaceae which is native to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Diospyros macrophylla is a tree in the family Ebenaceae. The specific epithet macrophylla means 'large-leafed'.
Diospyros vaccinioides, the small persimmon, is a herbaceous plant, a member of the family Ebenaceae. This plant is mainly found in China and it is known to thrive in subtropical biomes.
Diospyros paniculata, or the panicle-flowered ebony, is a species of tree in the ebony family. Endemic to the Western Ghats area of India and parts of Bangladesh, the species is currently listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.
