1.
Diospyros texana
Scheele, Linnaea. 22: 145. 1849.
Black persimmon, chapote
Brayodendron texanum
(Scheele) Small
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.
2
n
= 30.
Flowering Feb-Mar; fruiting Aug. Open woodlands of bottomlands, prairie margins, rocky hillsides; 0-1800 m; Tex.; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas).
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.
