Diospyros virginiana

Sep 1 • Written by Carmin Nezat

Persimmon! Diospyros virginiana. Also called Eastern Persimmon, Possumwood, Date Plum, Winter  Plum, Possum apples, Sugar plum and Jove's Fruit. Synonym(s): Diospyros mosieri, Diospyros virginiana  var. mosieri, Diospyros virginiana var. platycarpa, Diospyros virginiana var. pubescens, Diospyros  virginiana var.virginiana. Native to central and Eastern USA.  

The word Plakemine is a Chitimacha word for persimmon. The town of Plaquemine, Louisiana was  originally inhabited by the Chitimacha people and were living there when Pierre LeMoyne, Sieur de  Iberville arrived in 1699 and claimed all of Louisiana for King Louis XIV of France. 

Traditional Cajun usage is as a gargle made with the buds for sore throat. The persimmon tree is  referred to as “plaqueminier”, and the fruit called “plaquemine.”  

The Cherokee used a syrup (unspecified part of the plant) for sore throat (”astringent plant used for sore  throat and mouth”), thrush, bloody discharge from bowels; compound infusion for toothache; cold  infusion of bark taken for bile and liver; compound used in steam bath for indigestion or biliousness;  used as a wash for piles; used for venereal disease (unspecified); and used as a food and to make  pudding. The Seminole also used the plant as a food.  

The unripe fruit is high in tannic acid which gives it its astringent property and ability to treat diarrhea,  dysentery, and heavy uterine bleeding. A decoction of the inner bark has similar effects due to its high  tannic concentration. A tea can be made from the dried leaves that are high in vitamin C and have a  pleasant flavor somewhat like sassafras. The roasted seed can be used as a coffee substitute (or more  like a coffee extender). The seeds have historically been used as clothing buttons during the American  Civil War and the boiled unripe persimmons for ink. 

1.usgulfcoaststatesgeotourism.com/content/a-bayou-runs-through-it-plaquemine la/gulC342F128ED911209C 
2 Plaquemine History | Plaquemine, LA 
3 Healers-Garden-Brochure-Web.pdf (vermilionville.org) persimmon 
4 Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey, 1975, Cherokee Plants and Their Uses -- A 400 Year History,  Sylva, N.C. Herald Publishing Co., page 49. BRIT - Native American Ethnobotany Database Diospyros  virginiana 
5 Perry, Myra Jean, 1975, Food Use of 'Wild' Plants by Cherokee Indians, The University of Tennessee,  M.S. Thesis, page 38. BRIT - Native American Ethnobotany Database Diospyros virginiana 
6 Sturtevant, William, 1954, The Mikasuki Seminole: Medical Beliefs and Practices, Yale University, PhD  Thesis, page 495. BRIT - Native American Ethnobotany Database Diospyros virginiana 
7 Briand.indd (salisbury.edu)