Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
3 ratings

Tuesday - October 07, 2014

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Planting, Trees
Title: How to Identify Male and Female Texas Persimmon Trees
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

I have just learned that Texas persimmon trees are either male or female. Is it possible to tell which is which when buying one? I am planting on 50 acres near Blanco. Do I need one of each? I'd like to have one that bears fruit so that wildlife can chow down.

ANSWER:

Texas persimmon is Diospyros texana and you are correct that they are dioecious meaning that the male and female flowers are on separate plants. But don't despair, since you have 50 acres within which to plant, you have lots of room to put in enough trees to ensure that you have good fruiting.

Damon Waitt, Senior Director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has answered a previous Mr. Smarty Plants question on identifying the gender of persimmon trees. Here's what he wrote: Persimmon trees are either male or female and only the females bear fruit. You can tell male trees from female trees because male flowers are smaller and appear in small clusters, while the larger female flower appears alone.

Inside the female flower you will find the pistil but also sterile stamens, noticeably smaller than stamens in the male flower. The stamens in a persimmon's female flowers are usually sterile but rarely produce pollen. So rarely a tree with female flowers can produce fruit without another tree with male flowers being around. To complicate matters further, a tree's sexual expression can vary from one year to the other and many cultivars of persimmon are parthenocarpic (setting seedless fruit without pollination).

The Native Plant Database has the following information about the tree: This well-shaped, small tree is valued primarily for its striking trunk and branches, which are a smooth, pale greyish white or whitish grey, peeling off to reveal subtle greys, whites, and pinks beneath. The fruits, borne on female trees, are edible once soft, with a flavor some liken to prunes, and are favorites of many birds and mammals. It is extremely drought-tolerant and disease-resistant and is ideal for small spaces in full sun.

The Aggie Horticulture website at TAMU has justified praise for the tree too.  Here's what they say ... Texas Persimmon is one of Texas's premier small trees. The bark of mature trees peels away to reveal shades of gray, white and pink on the trunk underneath, rivaling the beauty of the Texas madrone. Combined with fine textured dark green foliage that stays evergreen in the southern range, intricate branching, and wide range of suitable environments for growth, make it worthy use in modern landscapes, especially those with limited space. It grows best in shallow, rocky limestone soils, and in the Edwards Plateau it can make heavy thickets. It is, however, tolerant of most soils and sites as long as they are sunny and well-drained.

The Aggie Hort website also recommends that persimmon trees should be planted 15-18 feet apart in rows that are 20 feet apart.

The Oregon State University has described the male and female flowers online as female flowers being white, inconspicuous, about 3 mm, bell-shaped, solitary or rarely in pairs, sweetly fragrant, appearing in early to mid spring.

Jim Conrad's Naturalist Newsletter at www.backyardnature.net has several pictures of Texas persimmon flowers (both male and female). He describes the male (staminate) flowers as having only pollen-producing stamens (usually numbering 16 in each flower), while the female flowers are much larger and fewer in each cluster.  He shows a close up of the female (pistillate) flower with four hairy styles atop a green, oval ovary. Jim comments that in the natural environment the male trees outnumber the females by a ratio of 10 to 1.

The USDA says that the tree should start to produce fruit when it is 5 or 6 years old. The flowers appear from February to June and the fruits mature in August and September.

 

 

From the Image Gallery


Texas persimmon
Diospyros texana

Texas persimmon
Diospyros texana

Texas persimmon
Diospyros texana

Texas persimmon
Diospyros texana

Texas persimmon
Diospyros texana

Texas persimmon
Diospyros texana

Texas persimmon
Diospyros texana

More Trees Questions

Premature browning of bald cypress needles in summer
July 15, 2011 - I have several 10m high taxodium distichum trees in the lawn, with drip irrigation twice a week, and same soil content, and on just one of them, several leaves have started turning brown, it seems to ...
view the full question and answer

Freeze damage to my Norfolk Island Pine in Houston, TX
March 18, 2010 - Houston, Texas experienced a rare 3-day snow event this winter that allowed snow to stay on my 20 ft. Norfolk Pine, in the ground for over 10 yrs. Every branch is now brown with all dead foliage. I ha...
view the full question and answer

Brown rings on grass under live oaks in Austin
June 13, 2013 - There are brown rings in the grass at the dripline on several Live Oak trees in our neighborhood. What causes this? The trees appear healthy.
view the full question and answer

Pinus taeda (Loblolly pines) for a property in Van Zandt County, Texas
March 17, 2015 - I want to initiate a stand of loblolly pine trees on our property in Van Zandt County in NE Texas. Assuming the ph factor is within range, how do I obtain seedings for this endeavor? Any other advic...
view the full question and answer

Leaves falling off recently transplanted mature Mountain Laurel
July 05, 2006 - I have recently purchased a Mountain Laurel for my backyard landscaping. It is a fully matured ML standing over 9 feet tall by 6 feet wide. Since it was planted (about 6 weeks ago) it has been losin...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.