American persimmon

The persimmon trees in my yard are about that big, too. I thought they were naturally tall trees. Jemma, I tasted an unripe one once and it was horrible. The ripe ones are nice but they all fall at different times so it is hard to get enough together to make a pie or something. So the wildlife enjoy mine.

Wow. This is a much bigger specimen than I'm used to seeing. I wonder if back yard gardeners keep them pruned back, hard, to keep the fruit within easy reach. I don't think that's it, actually, the persimmon trees in my experience seem to be naturally smaller trees. Never seen a big one. More than one species, maybe? Live and learn, I guess!

The ripe fruit is very tasty. The "unripe fruit" however can cause a severe suffocating feeling in the throat.

Is this near your home? Do you eat them? I have a couple of these trees in my yard and the deer and insects love the ripe fruit.