Kaki, persimmon or date plum
Family Ebenaceae
Diospyros kaki, the kaki, persimmon or date plum (D. kaki 1), is a deciduous tree with simple alternate leaves, glabrous above and finely pubescent beneath. The flowers are usually unisexual; the male ones in small clusters in the leaf axils, pentamerous, with 16-25 stamens in 2 rows; the female ones are borne solitary in the leaf axils, with a light yellow corolla and a flattened ovary (D. kaki 3). The soft fruit is a berry, reddish to orange in colour, 5-8 cm in diameter, and resembles a tomato (D. kaki 4). The enlarged calyx adheres to the fruit, which contains a few seeds.
Distribution
The kaki is an important fruit in its native region of China and Japan. Around 1800 the tree was introduced into Europe, but with little economic success. Fifty years later it was introduced into California and finally it reached the southern states around 1870. Today the fruit is also cultivated in southern Europe (D. kaki 2). Kakis from Israel are promoted on the European market as 'sharon fruit'.
Use
The kaki is eaten as a dessert fruit, but it is also cooked, dried and candied. In Asia the juice is made into wine and liqueur. The fruit is rich in vitamin A.