2.
Diospyros maritima
Blume, Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind. 13: 669. 1826.
Malay persimmon
Shrubs or trees,
to 12 m.
Bark
dark brown to black, smooth and flaking.
Leaves
persistent; petiole 0.5-1 cm; blade dark green and glossy adaxially, elliptic-lanceolate to elliptic-oblong or slightly obovate, 7-15(-17) × 3-6(-8) cm, thick, apex obtuse, abaxial surface glabrous (or sparsely pubescent when young), with 2 basilaminar glands.
Inflorescences
solitary flowers or 2-3-flowered cymes, borne on twigs of current season.
Flowers
1.5-1.8 cm; sepals 4; petals 4; stamens 16; anthers dehiscent along their entire length; pistillate flowers with 8 staminodes; styles 4, connate for most of their lengths; ovary pubescent.
Berries
yellow to orange or black, not glaucous, depressed-globose, (1.5-)2-3 cm diam., glabrous (except at apex).
Seeds
brown, ellipsoid, ca. 1.5 cm.
Flowering intermittently year-round; fruiting year-round. Disturbed ground near shores; 0-10 m; introduced; Fla.; e Asia (including Japan); w Pacific Islands; Australia.
A common tree of coastal forests throughout the tropical western Pacific,
Diospyros maritima
is climatically well suited to seasonally dry southern Florida, with its salt-laden air, where it rarely escapes from cultivation. Although uncommon at present, it has the potential to become an established strand species, like
Terminalia catappa
Linnaeus or
Casuarina equisetifolia
Linnaeus.
