The persimmon is about the size of a plum, but is flattened at the poles. It grows close to the branch and its calyx is large. The color is yellow generally flushed with red. Some writers describe it as juicy, but I would not call it that; the flesh is more like custard or soft jelly.
The tree usually varies in height from thirty to fifty feet, but in some places is said to reach one hundred or more feet. The trunk is short and the branches spreading. In the south it often forms a thicket in uncultivated fields and along roadsides. The bark is dark brown or dark gray, the surface is scaly and divided into plates. The leaves are usually a narrow oval with smooth edges; when matured they are dark green and glossy on the upper side, underneath pale and often downy. The flower is a creamy-white or greenish-yellow.
Papaw
The papaw is another fruit I knew well as a child. It is sometimes called custard-apple because the flesh resembles soft custard. As I write I can almost taste the, to me, sickish sweetness of the fruit and feel the large, smooth, flat seeds in my mouth. In shape the papaw somewhat resembles the banana, the texture of the skin is the same, but the surface of the papaw is smoothly rounded and it is shorter and thicker than the banana, being usually from three to five inches long. It ripens in September and October. The tree is small, often a shrub, and it grows wild no farther north than western New York.
There are some cultivated papaw-trees on Long Island, but I do not think they bear fruit. Certainly none that I have seen have ever fruited. You will find the tree as far south as Florida and Texas, through the Middle States and west to Michigan and Kansas. It flourishes in the bottom lands of the Mississippi Valley and seeks the shade of the forests. The bark is dark brown with gray blotches; the leaves are large, being from two to twelve inches long and four inches wide. They are oval, pointed at the tip and narrowed at the base. When matured they are smooth, dark green on the upper side and paler beneath. At first the flower is as green as the leaves, but finally turns a deep red-purple. It grows close to the branch and is solitary.
May-Apple
One of the most delicious wild fruits we have is the May-apple or mandrake. It is finely flavored, sweet and juicy, but being a laxative one must eat of it sparingly. It is most common in the Middle States and reaches perfection in Ohio.
The plant is from twelve to eighteen inches high, and the large umbrella-like leaves are lifted on smooth, straight stems. The fruit usually grows from the fork of two leaves. It is yellow, lemon-shaped, and about the size of a plum. The flesh is like that of the plum and there are numerous seeds in fleshy seed coverings. It ripens in July and is quite soft when fully ripe. I have sometimes gathered the firm, yellow May-apples, put them away in a cool, dark, dry place to ripen, and in taking them out have found them in prime condition. They will ripen in this way without spoiling if not allowed to touch one another.
The leaves frequently measure a foot in diameter; they have from five to nine lobes, which are notched and pointed at the tips; the upper side is darker than the lower. While the fruit of the May-apple is edible, the leaves and root are poisonous, not to the touch but to the taste. The flower is a clear white with from eight to twelve rounding petals and it generally measures about one and a half inches across. The petals expand in the morning, become erect in the afternoon, and close at night. We are told that the May-apple is a roadside plant, but I have found it only in the woods.