Facts about Date Plum (Diospyros lotus)

Diospyros lotus L.:
China (Asia)

Flora of China Editorial Committee. 1996. Fl. China 15: 1–387. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing & St. Louis. http://www.tropicos.org/Reference/1018515

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Distribution

Distribution: Mediterranean region, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China and Japan.

Flora of Pakistan @ eFloras.org

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Distribution

W. Asia to China and Korea, cultivated elsewhere.

Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal @ eFloras.org

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Morphology

Description

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.

Flora of Pakistan @ eFloras.org

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Comments

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.

Flora of Pakistan @ eFloras.org

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Elevation Range

1000 m

Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal @ eFloras.org

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Description

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.

Flora of China @ eFloras.org

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Habitat

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

Terrestrial

Source: IUCN

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Habitat & Distribution

500--2500 m. 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]

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Cyclicity

Flower/Fruit

Fl. Per.: May June. Fr. Per.: Oct.-Nov.

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Molecular Biology

Statistics of barcoding coverage: Diospyros lotus

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 6
Species: 12
Species With Barcodes: 1

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 (CC BY 3.0)

Source: Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)

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Conservation Status

IUCN Red List Assessment

Red List Category

LC

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2007

Assessor/s

Participants of the FFI/IUCN SSC Central Asian regional tree Red Listing workshop, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (11-13 July 2006)

Reviewer/s

Newton, A. & Eastwood, A. (Global Tree Red List Authority)

Justification

A widespread species with a large extent of occurrence. Population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population size criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., less than 10,000 mature individuals in conjunction with appropriate decline rates and subpopulation qualifiers). Population trend has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the threshold for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, it is evaluated as Least Concern.

Source: IUCN

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Date-plum

Diospyros lotus, better known as the Date-plum or Caucasian 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 "the fruit of the gods" i.e. Dios pyros (lit. "the wheat of Zeus"), 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. 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.^[1]

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 grows with the frame, 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

The leaves of date-plum.

The trunk of date-plum.

This is a tree height of 15-30 m with sloughing of aging bark.

The leaves are shiny, leathery, oval shape with pointed ends, 5-15 cm long and 3-6 cm in width.

The flowers are small, greenish, appearing in the June-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

The fruit of date-plum.

Caucasian persimmon fruits are edible and contain lots of sugars, malic acid, and vitamins. They are used as fresh fruits or after frost, but usually dried. Drying and frost destroy their tartness.

References

^ "The Odyssey by Homer, p.76 of this public domain e-text". Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1727. Retrieved 2007-10-13.

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Source: Wikipedia

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