Japanese persimmons, ‘Diospyros kaki L.,' were introduced into the United States from Japan by Admiral Perry who discovered the fruit growing on the coast of Southern Japan in 1851.

Most of the early Japanese persimmon introductions in 1828 were sprouted from seed in Washington, DC, but were unsuccessful, because of the unusually cold winters experienced during that period.

The USDA introduced grafted cultivars of Japanese persimmon into California and Georgia beginning in 1870, and many of these experimental persimmon tree trials were begun in Central Florida in the early 1900's at the University located in Gainesville, Florida.

One thousand cultivars of Japanese persimmon are available from Japan, but from the hundreds of tree cultivars tested in the United States during the past years, only a handful of commercial trees should be considered by the home gardener for reliable fruit production.

The cultivars of Japanese persimmon trees recommended for home gardeners are Fuyu, Fuyugaki, Giant Fuyu, Chocolate, Eureka, Hachiya, Jiro, Tam-o-pan, and Tanenashi.

Many cultivars were planted in Florida by Professor Hume of the University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida during the early 1900's. The trees were a sensation because of the prolific early bearing and the observation that the trees ripened into large crops of colorful, juicy fruit in late fall when very few fresh delicacies are available. Reports of early Japanese persimmon tree orchards show that in excess of 22,000 trees were being grown commercially in Florida alone. The Japanese persimmon trees are classifieds into two categories using two terms that confuse most people. The use of the term "non" is interpreted by most people as a negative, meaning a tree that demonstrates a less desirable quality. Japanese persimmon trees produce fruit that is non-astringent or astringent. The non-astringent term in this case is more desirable for eating to the prevailing garden public, because it contains a "non" bitter taste in the green or hard fruit state. Eventually the astringent Japanese persimmon fruit will develop a juicy, flavorful, very desirable, taste when it ripens to the point of being soft. The peak flavor of a Japanese persimmon never really climaxes until both the non-astringent and the astringent persimmon both ripen completely on the tree to the point of softness. The use of these terms in recommending the purchase of Japanese persimmon trees has been unfortunate, to the point of discouraging many gardeners from planting trees of the astringent persimmon cultivars. Plum trees, for instance, are not classified into two categories of sour and sweet, even though a hard green plum before fully ripening is sour to taste, yet it becomes pleasantly sweet and juicy in the soft colored stage.

Some botanist historians argue that the Japanese persimmon tree documented as growing there one thousand years ago actually originated in China. This argument is often repeated by academics, when national origins of plants are debated about many other plants, but the argument is meaningless. It is realized by geologists that the land boundary of Japan was united to the continent of Asia at some past period of ancient history.

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