North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@bellsouth.net>]

On 10/24/2012 7:42 PM, Joseph Richardson wrote:
> Last year around this time I saw what I was pretty sure were numerous
> persimmons along interstate 24 in Southern Illinois.  Today I confirmed
> that was what I was seeing.  I detoured off the interstate into the
> national forest in the vicinity of Dutchman's lake (in this case the
> persimmons were most numerous closest to the interstate)  and also stopped
> off at Rend Lake and checked out the park that google maps calls Wayne
> Fitzgerrell.  There are indeed persimmon trees all over the place.  I know
> of no other place like it.  I probably ate 100 times more persimmons than I

> have the rest of my life combined and barely scratched the surface.  This
> would be a great area to look for improved trees in the wild.

That is a good idea.

I lived for a while on a piece of farmland in Chatham County NC that 
had huge natural groves of mature persimmons and saplings. They were 
everywhere along the forest edges and had taken over some of the field 
edges. This grove is probably gone now due to sale of the property for 
development. I have never seen as many persimmons in one place in my 
life. They were growing in sandy loam soil with severe impermeable 
compacted clay a foot and a half down in the Triassic Basin region 
between Pittsboro and Apex near a Jordan Lake estuary.

Persimmon wood was used to make turned wooden spindles for winding 
cotton yarn on in textile mills in the South. It was used because it is 
so hard and tough. I prefer walking sticks made from straight limbs from 
persimmon trees; they are stout, heavy and last forever.