Diospyros lotus aka Caucasus Persimmon or date-plum?

[Deleted]

A vendor gave me a handful of seeds as a free sample.

Is anyone familiar with these?

I've seen several examples of fruit trees, which are thinned, to make a bigger fruit, or the bigger varieties seem to produce fewer fruits, overall.

Date-plum persimmons are apparently the size of a large coin or ping pong ball, but the trees are completely loaded down.

They take on a violet hue and are supposed to taste like a cross between a date and a plum, perhaps because of a pleasant acidity, which is supposed to be reduced by bletting (like quinces or aronia.)

I am reading that the peel is thin, but it's full of very hard seeds.

The "lotus" in the scientific name is said to refer to the "lotus eaters" of Greek legend, who forgot about all else. "Dios" refers to a god, or gods, and "pyros" was said to refer to wheat. In other words, a food of the Gods.

Yet, I'm having some trouble, finding out how they are traditionally prepared as food.

[Deleted]

Other confusing nicknames --
Trabzon date or Jujube

Trebizond date is an Eleagnus, and Jujube is a Zyziphus.

Trabizon is a placename, in Turkey, which has dating sites.

[steev]

Trebizond date has nothing to do with jujube, although both are good in dry climates and with little care.

My Trebizond date (~7 years) produced four fruit last year, three more than the year before.

My jujubes (the two grafts that didn't promptly die) have been productive several years; the rootstocks of the failed grafts are clearly healthy, although their fruit is nearly worthless.

[nicollas]

@degzing

I've never sample a lotus date. From what i remember, trees are dioique so one possibility is to sow a few and keep only females trees, so you'll have fruits without seeds (but maybe even smaller).

The best use of D. lotus is as rootstock for D. kaki (and maybe D. virginiana) of your USDA zone permit that.

[Deleted]

Feb 20, 2014 0:06:20 GMT -5 steev said:

Trebizond date has nothing to do with jujube, although both are good in dry climates and with little care.

My Trebizond date (~7 years) produced four fruit last year, three more than the year before.

My jujubes (the two grafts that didn't promptly die) have been productive several years; the rootstocks of the failed grafts are clearly healthy, although their fruit is nearly worthless.

  Didn't you water them?

[steev]

Yes, I watered them, although jujubes aren't very thirsty plants.