In my last two posts I talked about plants that I found along the Colorado River in downtown Austin.
On a different day I went to St. Edward's Park to do some birding and I noticed one tree had small green fruits on it - about the size of a pecan with it's outer green shell still attached. iNaturalist to the rescue again, I learned that this was a Texas Persimmon Tree (Diospyros texana). My admiration for native Persimmon trees is well known to readers of this blog, and I was very excited to learn that there is more than one species that grows natively in the United States. I saw a larger specimen of this tree when I visited Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve, this one marked with a placard.
I also found this tree growing at Commons Ford Ranch Metropolitan Park. I collected a couple of fruits and harvested the seeds. Since I had good luck germinating some native persimmons last year, I am trying the same method: removing all fruit from the seeds, placing them in a pot of soil outdoors, and leaving them alone through the fall and winter. I may move this pot into a slightly warmer spot over the coldest part of the winter, just in case they aren't quite as hardy as I'm hoping, but I do want them to experience the cold they would naturally in the Austin area. Here are some photos of the fruits and flowers by other iNaturalist observers.
I've done some research on this species (good info here and here) and found that it is likely hardy where I live in central Oklahoma, so I plan to try growing in here. It is also a recommended species for greater landscaping use, being small, nicely formed, attractive bark, naturally feeding wildlife, and drought tolerant. As the placard mentions above, the fruit is small but edible. Hopefully I'll have a chance to try one some day.
On a different day I went to St. Edward's Park to do some birding and I noticed one tree had small green fruits on it - about the size of a pecan with it's outer green shell still attached. iNaturalist to the rescue again, I learned that this was a Texas Persimmon Tree (Diospyros texana). My admiration for native Persimmon trees is well known to readers of this blog, and I was very excited to learn that there is more than one species that grows natively in the United States. I saw a larger specimen of this tree when I visited Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve, this one marked with a placard.
 |
| Texas Persimmon at Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve |
I also found this tree growing at Commons Ford Ranch Metropolitan Park. I collected a couple of fruits and harvested the seeds. Since I had good luck germinating some native persimmons last year, I am trying the same method: removing all fruit from the seeds, placing them in a pot of soil outdoors, and leaving them alone through the fall and winter. I may move this pot into a slightly warmer spot over the coldest part of the winter, just in case they aren't quite as hardy as I'm hoping, but I do want them to experience the cold they would naturally in the Austin area. Here are some photos of the fruits and flowers by other iNaturalist observers.
 |
| Photo by iNaturalist observer butterflies4fun. |
 |
| Photo by iNaturalist observer manesalinas. |
I've done some research on this species (good info here and here) and found that it is likely hardy where I live in central Oklahoma, so I plan to try growing in here. It is also a recommended species for greater landscaping use, being small, nicely formed, attractive bark, naturally feeding wildlife, and drought tolerant. As the placard mentions above, the fruit is small but edible. Hopefully I'll have a chance to try one some day.
No comments:
Post a Comment