Diospyros texana

Scheele

Linnaea 22: 145. 1849 ,.

Common names: Black persimmon chapote
Illustrated
Synonyms: Brayodendron texanum (Scheele) Small
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 8. Treatment on page 249. Mentioned on page 248, 250.

Shrubs or trees, to 15 m. Bark light reddish gray, smooth and flaking. Leaves tardily deciduous; petiole 0.1–0.5 cm; blade dark green and glossy adaxially, obovate, 2–5 × 1–3 cm, thick, apex rounded to emarginate, abaxial surface tomentose, without basilaminar glands. Inflorescences solitary flowers or 2–3-flowered cymes, borne on twigs of previous season. Flowers 0.8–1.6 cm; sepals 5; petals 5; stamens usually 16; anthers dehiscent by subapical slits; pistillate flowers without staminodes; styles usually 4, connate for most of their lengths; ovary pubescent. Berries black, not glaucous, subglobose, 1.5–2.5 cm diam., pubescent. Seeds light red, trianguloid, ca. 0.8 cm. 2n = 30.


Phenology: Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Aug.
Habitat: Open woodlands of bottomlands, prairie margins, rocky hillsides
Elevation: 0-1800 m

Distribution

V8 512-distribution-map.gif

Tex., Mexico (Chihuahua), Mexico (Coahuila), Mexico (Nuevo León), Mexico (Tamaulipas)

Discussion

Brayodendron, based on Diospyros texana and segregated because of its apically dehiscent anthers, lack of staminodes, and coherent styles, can hardly stand up within a worldwide view of the Ebenaceae. As well as being eaten by people and wildlife, the fruits also are used in dying. The heartwood turns dark sooner than in D. virginiana; the small size of the stems limits its use.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

No values specified.

... more about "Diospyros texana"
rounded;emarginate +
James E. Eckenwalder +
Scheele +
gray +  and light reddish +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
pubescent +  and not glaucous +
subglobose +
fibrous +  and fleshy +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
obovate +
coriaceous +
Black persimmon +  and chapote +
urceolate;campanulate or salverform +
2-3-flowered +
Tex. +, Mexico (Chihuahua) +, Mexico (Coahuila) +, Mexico (Nuevo León) +  and Mexico (Tamaulipas) +
0-1800 m +
straight;slightly curved +
connate +  and distinct +
bisexual +  and unisexual +
usually smaller +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1.6 cm16 mm <br />0.016 m <br />) +
slender +
Open woodlands of bottomlands, prairie margins, rocky hillsides +
deciduous +
tenuinucellate +  and bitegmic +
accrescent +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
Flowering Feb–Mar +  and fruiting Aug. +
[2-]4-5[-8]-carpellate +
flattened +  and oblong +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (?) +
persistent +
accrescent +
Illustrated +
[1-]3-4[-5] times as many as petals +
slender +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
Brayodendron texanum +
Diospyros texana +
Diospyros +
species +
tree +  and shrub +