Adv. Hort. Sci., 2008 22(4): 239-243
Persimmon in China: Domestication and traditional
utilizations of genetic resources
Z. Luo*, R. Wang **
* Department of Pomology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070 Hubei, China.
** College of Horticulture, Northwest Sci-Tech University of Agriculture and Forestry, Yangling,
712100 Shaanxi, China.
Key words: ancient Chinese literature, domestication, Japanese persimmon, traditional use.
Abstract: The history of the Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) industry in China is reviewed based
on ancient literatures. Persimmon (Diospyros L.) and its distribution in China are surveyed according to specimens and their collecting sites, which were preserved in Herbarium affiliated with the Chinese Academy of
Sciences. The cultivar evolution of Japanese persimmon and the characteristics of main commercial cultivars in
China are described in brief. In addition, traditional utilizations of genetic resources of persimmon in China,
including fresh fruits, dried persimmon, timber, pharmacy and ornamental plants are summarized. Cultural
activity related to persimmon is introduced in this paper.
1. Introduction
Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) is
one of the ancient fruit trees in China (Table 1). The
Chinese name of persimmon (Diospyros L.) first
appeared in Li Ji·Nei Ze (around 450 BC , written by
Kong Ji, grandson of Confucius), where it was considered a precious food during the Warring States
Period (475-221 BC). In another famous work, Shang
Lin Fu (written by Sima Xiangru about 120-118 BC),
the author, observed that Japanese persimmon was
one of the fruit crops planted in Shanglin Garden, a
royal garden of the West Han Dynasty (206 BC - 23
At that time it was regarded as a fantastic plant
enjoyed by the few (Xin, 1983). Until the South and
North Dynasty time (386-589 AD ), Japanese persimmon was popularized due to the technical developments of graft and removing astringency. It was cultivated on a large scale since Tang and Song Dynasty (618-1279 AD), when some cultivars also appeared (Fig. 1). It was then utilized widely, as a woody
grain plant in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties
and the early stages of the Peoples Republic of
China (1271-1963 AD).
Table 1 - Persimmon related records in ancient Chinese literature
Age
Literature
Author
Time
Dynasty
Description related to persimmon
AD).
Li Ji·Nei Ze
Shang Lin Fu
Kong Ji
Sima Xiangru
Warring States About 450 BC
Western Han 126-118 BC
Qi Min Yao Shu
Jia Sixie
Late Wei
You Yang Za Zu
Ben Cao Yan Yi
Nong Shu
Ben Cao Gang Mu
Duan Chengshi Tang
Kou Zongshi
Song
Wang Zhen
Yuan
Li Shizhen
Ming
533-554 AD
821-824 AD
1116 AD
1313 AD
Finished in 1578
AD and published
in 1590 AD
Listed as one of precious foods
Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) and date plum (D. lotus
L.) planted in Shang Lin Garden, a Royal garden of West Han Dynasty
Japanese persimmon was grafted on date plum as rootstock; De-astringency
by drying on the tree, as well as done by oven or limewater
Listed seven advantages of Japanese persimmon
Processing dried persimmon and de-astringency in warm water
Processing dried persimmon
Usefulness of Japanese persimmon, date plum and oil persimmon (D.
oleifera Cheng) for pharmacy
Received for publication 27 June 2008.
Accepted for publication 30July 2008.
239
Fig. 1 - Persimmon garden in Fuping county, Shaanxi province.
Nowadays, as a seasonal fruit crop, Japanese persimmon has developed from the odd scattered planting
to scaled and standardized production, with the technical innovation of cultivation and processing (Fig. 1).
According to FAO statistics (2006), Japanese persimmon acreage and production were 653,200 ha and
1,987,000 tons respectively on the China mainland.
This represents 3% of Chinese fruit harvesting area and
yield (rankings 9th) and accounts for 89.6 and 66.8%
global acreage and production of Japanese persimmon,
respectively (ranking 1st in the world).
2. Persimmon (Diospyros L.) and its distribution in
China
According to Flora of China (the 60th volume first
fascicule, 1987) records, there are 57 species, six varieties and one form of persimmon distributed from tropical to subtropical regions of the southwest and southern
China, but few in temperate zones. The English edition
of Flora of China (the 15th volume, 1996) lists the
number of persimmon species as up to 60. At present,
specimens of a total of 64 species are preserved in Herbariums affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Science. Information on their collecting locations is collected and listed in Table 2.
3. Cultivar formation of Japanese persimmon and
the characteristics of main commercial cultivars
Persimmon was classified in the jujube group before the Han and Jin Dynasty; date plum (D. lotus L.) is
still being termed as soft jujube (Sun, 1983; Xin, 1983).
Japanese persimmon was planted scarcely in the
Han and Jin Dynasty (206 BC - 420 AD), thus there was
no concept of cultivar at that time. In the North and
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South Dynasty (386-589 AD), accompanied by the
application of graft technique, excellent individuals
were conserved and further spread through asexual
propagation. Consequently, to distinguish different
populations, cultivars were named initially based on
some prominent characters: i.e. Dashi (Big fruit persimmon), Xiaoshi (small fruit persimmon), Hongshi
(red fruit persimmon) and Huangshi (yellow fruit persimmon). Colonies were widely cultivated after the
Tang and Song Dynasty (618-1279 AD), and at that
phase landraces began to be denominated according to
their most notable characters in the different regions,
and this was also when veritable cultivars emerged. In
terms of an incomplete statistic, 74 Japanese persimmon cultivars were recorded in ancient Chinese literatures (Wang et al., unpublished).
A total of 1,072 Japanese persimmon names, including synonyms, homonyms and some extinct cultivars
have been found according to investigation by Wang
(unpublished). Currently, 560 persimmon accessions
are preserved in the National Fruits Germplasm Repository for Persimmon. Most Japanese persimmon cultivars in China belong to pollination constant astringent
(PCA) types. Wang (1983) first reported PCNA (pollination constant non-astringent) type ‘Luotian-tianshi’
existing in the Dabieshan region surrounding Luotian
county and Macheng city of Hubei province. In recent
years, apart from ‘Luotian-tianshi’ persimmon, a series
of new PCNA types were believed present in the same
area where ‘Luotian-tianshi’ was found (Yonemori et
al., 2005) and a new pollination constant non-astringent (PCNA) cultivars was released by Yi et al. (2004)
(Fig. 2).
Usually, traditional cultivars are utilized for drying
persimmon or fresh fruits, some of the principal cultivars include: ‘Fuping-jianshi’ (Fuping county, Shaanxi
province), ‘Binxian-dingjianshi’ (Binxian county,
Shaanxi province), ‘Ganmaokui’ (Dabashan region
located at the cross zone of Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan,
Gansu provinces), ‘Gongcheng-shuishi’ (Gongcheng
county, Northeast Guangxi Chuang Autonomous
Region) and ‘Jumishi’(Southeast Shanxi province) can
cover more than 6,667 ha; ‘Boai-bayuehuang’ (Boai
county, Henan province), ‘Xingyang-shuishi’
(Xingyang county, Henan province), ‘Heze-jingmianshi’ (Heze city, Shandong province), ‘Xiaoezi’ (Weifang city, Shandong province), and ‘Anxi-youshi’
(Anxi county, Fujian province) cover an area of about
3,333 ha; also ‘Mopanshi’ (PCA), centralized in Fangshan district of Beijing city and Mancheng county of
Hebei province.
In the last decade, some cultivars with better economic value have extended quickly, such as ‘Jirou’,
‘Fuyuu’ and ‘Youhou’ (PCNA), and ‘Mopanshi’,
‘Gongcheng-shuishi’, ‘Fuping-jianshi’, ‘Yongdinghongshi’, ‘Hai’an-xiaofangshi’ and ‘Tailihong’ (PCA).
Characteristics of the main commercial cultivars are
shown in Table 3.
Table 2 - Geographical Distribution of Diospyros spp. in China based on herbarium and their collecting sites
Provinces
Species and variations
Inner Mongolia
Macao
Shanxi
Hebei
He’nan
Beijing
Shangdong
Hongkong
Tibet
Gansu
Diospyros morrisiana
Diospyros morrisiana
Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros kaki var. kaki
Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros kaki var. kaki
Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros kaki var. kaki
Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris
Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris
Diospyros vaccinioides var. vaccinioides, Diospyros morrisiana, Diospyros eriantha, Diospyros kaki var. kaki
Diospyros dumetorum, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros anisocalyx
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros armata, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros
kaki var. silvestris
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros rhombifolia, Diospyros glaucifolia, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros
kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris
Diospyros rhombifolia, Diospyros glaucifolia, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var.
silvestris, Diospyros oleifera
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros armata, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros lotus var. mollissima,
Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros tutcheri, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros
kaki var. silvestris, Diospyros oleifera, Diospyros anisocalyx
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros rhombifolia, Diospyros glaucifolia, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros
morrisiana, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris, Diospyros oleifera
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros cathayensi var. foochowensis, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros
morrisiana, Diospyros nitida, Diospyros tsangii, Diospyros eriantha, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros mun
Diospyros rhombifolia, Diospyros glaucifolia, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros Oldham, Diospyros morrisiana,
Diospyros tsangii, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris, Diospyros oleifera
Diospyros Montana, Diospyros Oldham, Diospyros morrisiana, Diospyros eriantha, Diospyros phillippensis, Diospyros
kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris, Diospyros maritime, Diospyros ferrea, Diospyros kotoensis
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros armata, Diospyros dumetorum, Diospyros ynnananensi, Diospyros
lotus var. lotus, Diospyros lotus var. mollissima, Diospyros eriantha, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris,
Diospyros anisocalyx, Diospyros sutchuensis, Diospyros miaoshanica
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros armata, Diospyros rhombifolia, Diospyros dumetorum, Diospyros
esquiroli, Diospyros ynnananensi, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros morrisiana, Diospyros sichourensis, Diospyros
tutcheri, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris, Diospyros anisocalyx, Diospyros miaoshanica
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros rhombifolia, Diospyros glaucifolia, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros
balfouriana, Diospyros siderophylia, Diospyros nigrocortex, Diospyros morrisiana, Diospyros tsangii, Diospyros tutcheri,
Diospyros xiangguiensis, Diospyros chunii, Diospyros hainanensis, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris,
Diospyros oleifera, Diospyros anisocalyx, Diospyros sutchuensis
Diospyros diversilimba, Diospyros inflate, Diospyros metcalfi, Diospyros howii, Diospyros vaccinioides var. vaccinioides,
Diospyros vaccinioides var. oblongata, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros coralline, Diospyros maclurei, Diospyros
morrisiana, Diospyros susarticulata, Diospyros longibracteata, Diospyros nitida, Diospyros rubra, Diospyros potingensis,
Diospyros eriantha, Diospyros strigosa, Diospyros chunii, Diospyros hainanensis, Diospyros ehretioides, Diospyros kaki
var. kaki, Diospyros anisocalyx
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros armata, Diospyros diversilimba, Diospyros rhombifolia, Diospyros
vaccinioides var. vaccinioides, Diospyros vaccinioides var. oblongata, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros coralline,
Diospyros morrisiana, Diospyros nitida, Diospyros tsangii, Diospyros tutcheri, Diospyros eriantha, Diospyros strigosa,
Diospyros phillippensis, Diospyros chunii, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris, Diospyros oleifera,
Diospyros anisocalyx, Diospyros sunyiensis, Diospyros ferrea, Diospyros mun, Diospyros toraraides
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros diversilimba, Diospyros dumetorum, Diospyros esquiroli, Diospyros
ynnananensi, Diospyros glaucifolia, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros kintungensis, Diospyros siderophylia, Diospyros
morrisiana, Diospyros longibracteata, Diospyros tsangii, Diospyros tutcheri, Diospyros potingensis, Diospyros
longshengensis, Diospyros unisemina, Diospyros eriantha, Diospyros xiangguiensis, Diospyros chunii, Diospyros
hainanensis, Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris, Diospyros oleifera, Diospyros sunyiensis,
Diospyros miaoshanica, Diospyros longzhouensis, Diospyros saxatilis
Diospyros cathayensi var. cathayensis, Diospyros rhombifolia, Diospyros howii, Diospyros dumetorum, Diospyros
ynnananensi, Diospyros lotus var. lotus, Diospyros lotus var. mollissima, Diospyros balfouriana, Diospyros kintungensis,
Diospyros nigrocortex, Diospyros fengi, Diospyros morrisiana, Diospyros sichourensis, Diospyros nitida, Diospyros
caloneura, Diospyros atrotricha, Diospyros punctilimba, Diospyros unisemina, Diospyros kerrii, Diospyros phillippensis,
Diospyros kaki var. kaki, Diospyros kaki var. silvestris, Diospyros hexamera, Diospyros anisocalyx, Diospyros miaoshanica,
Diospyros reticulinervis var. reticulinervis, Diospyros reticulinervis var. glabrescens, Diospyros xishuangbannaensis,
Diospyros ebenum, Diospyros embryopteris, Diospyros martabanica, Diospyros mollis
Jiangsu
Anhui
Shanxi
Hubei
Zhejiang
Fujian
Jiangxi
Taiwan
Sichuan
Guizhou
Hunan
Hainan
Guangdong
Guangxi
Yunan
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Traditional uses of persimmon in China are listed in
Table 4 (Figs. 4, 5).
Fig. 2 - ‘Eshi 1’, a Chinese PCNA cultivar, newly found in Luotian
county, Hubei province.
4. Utilization of persimmon and product development
Historically, persimmon (eg. D. kaki, D. lotus, D.
oleifera, D. glaucifolia, D. rhombifolia, D. discolor, D.
ebenum, D. morrisiana) was employed as a fruit tree.
At present, D. kaki and seedless date plum (D. lotus)
are still important for their edible fruits, while D. kaki,
D. lotus, D. oleifera and D. glaucifolia are used as rootstocks.
D. hainanensis, D. morrisiana, D. glaucifolia, D.
ebenumeriantha, D. ferrea, D. maritima, D. potingen sis, D. rubra, D. longibracteata and D. dumetorum are
sources of timber.
D. kaki, D. morrisiana, D. lotus, D. glaucifolia and
D. maritima (used for fruits, medicine, fish anaesthetic)
have medical value.
D. oleifera, D. eriantha, D. potingensis, D. morri siana, D. lotus, D. glaucifolia, D. dumetorum, D.
rhombifolia and D. susarticulata (cloth dye) are adopted for persimmon lacquer (kaki tannins) extraction.
D. kaki, D. lotus, D. oleifera, D. rhombifolia, D.
cathayensis and D. armata are wonderful ornamental
plants (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 - Persimmon trees in Beijing street.
Fig. 4 - Processing dried persimmon in Gongcheng county, Guangxi.
Table 3 - Important commercial cultivars of Japanese persimmon and their characteristics in China
Cultivars
Characteristics
Damopan (Mopanshi; Large Grindstong PCA. Matures in mid-October, with weight 250 g and an obvious ring on the
Persimmon)
middle of the fruit body. The color of fruit is orange-yellow to orange-red,
seedless, and of the best eating quality.
Fuping-jianshi (Fuping Tine Persimmon) PCA. Matures in late October, with weight 160 g and long ellipse fruit. The
color of flesh is orange-yellow, seedless or few, suitable for making dried fruit.
Gongcheng-shuishi (Gongcheng Watery PCA. Matures in late October, with weight 200 g and flat fruit. The color of
Persimmon)
flesh is orange-red, seedless or few, suitable for eating and making dried fruit.
Boai-bayuehuang (Boai August Yellow PCA. Matures in mid-late October, with weight 120 g. The color of flesh is
Persimmon)
orange-red with thick bloom, seedless. The soft dried fruit are very sweet, and
of the best quality.
Jumishi (Orange Honey Persimmon)
PCA. Matures in early October, with weight 75 g. The color of flesh is orange-red,
suitable for eating and brewing vinegar. The dried fruit are of the best quality.
Eshi 1 (Autumn Flame Persimmon)
PCNA. Matures in early to mid-October, with weight 200 g and few seeds. The
fruit is moderately tasty, crisp and sweet.
242
Producing area
All areas, especially
in Beijing and Hebei
Fuping, Shaanxi
Gongcheng, Guangxi
Boai, He’nan
Southern Shan’xi
Luotian, Hubei
son, meaning a blessing as hopes that every thing goes
as one wishes).
In recent years, a number of cultural events, such as
persimmon festivals, have been celebrated in the main
production area. The Gongcheng Yueshi (moon persimmon) Festival held by the Gongcheng Yao autonomous county, and the Mancheng Mopanshi Festival
held in Mancheng county Hebei province are the most
royal and are held annually attracting many tourists
each year.
References
Fig. 5 - Processing pieces of persimmon in Luotian county, Hubei
province.
5. Cultural activities related to persimmon
China is one of the origins of persimmon and has
the longest cultivation history (Yu, 1979). Ever since
ancient times, Japanese persimmon and Chinese people’s daily lives have been inseparable, as referred to
some extent in all the previous dynasties writers’literature.
There are many works of art related to Japanese persimmon, including poems, classical Chinese poems,
songs, poetic essays, and legends (Wang, unpublished).
At the same time, many place names are related to
Japanese persimmon, such as Persimmon Forest
County established in Shaanxi Province in the Yuan
Dynasty.
In addition, there are some works of art with Japanese persimmon as the theme. One example is a
famous picture in which persimmons are described as
jades (in Chinese, ‘persimmon’ and ‘thing’ are in uni-
LATE WEI DYNASTY JIA SIXIE’s original work, MIAO QIYU
emended and annotated, 1982 - Qi Min Yao Shu. - Agricultural
Publishing House, Beijing, pp. 218-220.
LI S., 1987 - Flora of China. - Science Press, Beijing, vol. 60, pp.
84-154.
LUO Z., LI F., CAI L., 1999 - Molecular systematics of China nati ve non-astringent persimmon based on random amplified poly morphic DNA. - Acta Horticulturae Sinica, 26: 297-301.
MING DYNASTY LI SHI ZHEN (LIU HENGRU emended and
annotated), 1982 - Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Mate ria Medical). - People’s Sanitation Publishing House, Beijing,
pp. 1778-1782.
SUN Y., 1983 - Chinese fruit history and fruit resources. - Shanghai
Science and Technology Publishing House, Shanghai, pp. 3-5.
WANG R., 1983 - Study on origin of ‘Luotian-tianshi’persimmon.
- Chinese Fruits, 2: 16-19.
WU Z., 1996 - Flora of China. - Science Press, Beijing, vol. 15,
pp. 215-234.
XIN S., 1983 - Chinese Fruit History Research. - Agricultural
Publishing House, Beijing, pp. 142-143.
YI Z., LUO Z., PAN D., WU H., ZHOU J., 2004 -‘Eshi 1’ - A new
pollination constant and non-astringent cultivar of Chinese
persimmon. - Acta Horticulturae Sinica, 31: 699.
YONEMORI K., IKEGAMI A., KITAJIMA A., LUO Z., KANZAKI S., SATO M., YAMADA M., YANG Y., WANG R.,
2005 - Existence of several pollination constant non-astringent
type persimmons in China. - Acta Horticulturae, 685: 77-83.
YU D., 1979 - Chinese fruits systematics. - China Agricultural
Press, Beijing, pp. 243-249.
Table 4 - Traditional uses and new products of persimmon in China
Use field
Parts or organs
Fresh eating
Fruit
Food products or beverage Fruit
Wood
Chemical materials
Crude drugs
Leaf
Xylem
Fruit
Calyx
Sugar crystal on dried fruits’skin
Leaf
Root
Juice
Products
Remarks
Dried persimmon
Persimmon vinegar
Persimmon wine
Persimmon chips
Persimmon refreshments
Persimmon jelly
Persimmon sweetened roll
Persimmon ice cream
Persimmon leaf tea
Ebony
Tannin, pectin, pigment
Various proved recipe of traditional
Chinese medicine
New developed
New developed
New developed
Material for architecture and industrial arts
243