What really good Asian persimmon is missing from this collection, below?
Jiro, Fuyu, Giant Fuyu, Hana Fuyu Matsamoto, Hachiya, Tanenashi, Maekawa, Imoto, Chocolate, Tam-O-Pan, Saijo, Izu, Fire Crystal, Ichi Kei Jiro,
Gwang Yang, Sheng, Nikita’s Gift, Coffee Cake, Honan Red , Giboshi
Rojo Brilliante and Huk Gam, I’d say.
Many thanks.
@SMC_zone6 Any chance you have a dormant stick or two of Rojo Brilliante or Huk Gam? I would pay for them and postage.
Definitely RB. I’ll have to check HG when I’m at my orchard next weekend.
Oh man, thank you so much. This is to repay an Alabama man who just did yeoman work tracking down two long lost limbertwig varieties (still “possibles” not confirmed).
Let me know expenses and your address.
Me: Steve Hamblin
6782 Cookes Hope Rd
Easton, Md 21601
Tanenashi is not a good one. I’m interested in Huk Gam as well.
How about Maru? I’ve heard it is tasty but I can’t vouch for it myself. I just planted one in January. I believe LE Cooke used to distribute them, in California at least. I got mine at a local nursery through DWN. Sadly persimmons can be tricky going from state to state.
Is Maru the same as Chocolate?
Good call, Kathy.
Maybe this is the same one as Zenji Maru. I found a picture of the original tree
WOW!!! That is beautiful!!!
I thought remembered seeing a blurb where Chocolate persimmon was called Maru. I did see that and it’s easy to find on a search but with more study I’ve seen articles that state Maru is noted to be a group of persimmons that are pollination variant. One orchard calls it Cinnamon persimmon.
https://www.penrynorchardspecialties.com/fruitdescriptions/maru.html
And then there is this:
The Maru persimmon is actually the suffix given to a group of several persimmons, meaning it is a type of persimmon versus variety. All Maru type persimmons are classified as Diospyros kaki and they are members of the family Ebenaceae. Even though the name Maru covers several persimmons, they remain relatively obscure in the commercial marketplace and can only claim the global status of being a minor fruit. Astringency plays a large role in the developing stages of most persimmons, but not the Maru persimmon. Maru persimmons belong to an obscure family known as pollination variant, meaning due to the tannins that develop in the fruit, the fruit’s flesh turns brown as it matures.
From Specialtyproducts.com
And I guess you can find anything on the internet… 
Drew,
I need scionwood from that tree 
What a beauty!!!
Chocolate/maru will make all your fruit full of seeds
Maru sold by LE Cooke is a variety called California Maru. It is a firm fleshed variety. I read that it wasn’t matched to any Japanese variety.
Zenji Maru is an entirely different variety with softer flesh. I believe that is the variety of the tree shown.
Both are different from chocolate.
The similarity is that all are PVNA - flesh that turns brown near the seed.
Giombo is my favorite Asian Persimmon and is missing from this list.
Check out Giombo, mine is small but I’m told they are similar to Saijo but larger fruits.
I had also wondered about ‘Maru’, since it was listed with Dave Wilson (DWN), but I could find little info on it on the web. In 2017 I planted one Maru from DWN, and also a Chocolate next to it (plus other varieties).
They both bore fruit last year (2019). Below are some of my notes - I hope they shed some light on these varieties:
Chocolate: heavy flowering of both sexes; set just four fruit. 10/19/19: harvested first fruit, orange. Brown speckled inside, with narrow seeds, crunchy and sweet, good. 11/14/19: birds ate two of the three remaining fruit, remaining one was dark and gooey, with a few seeds, flesh was pure dark brown, very soft, like custard. Sweet and very good. (My wife, who is Japanese, stated that the flavor reminded her of dried persimmon in Japan - hoshigaki.)
Maru: heavy growth and bearing, thinned fruit heavily. 9/15/19 - totally green skin, but taste was good with many seeds, flecks of brown present…edible this early, but not too sweet. 10/5/19 - yellow orange skin, inside pale, no seeds, no flecks, inedibly astringent. 10/19/19: fruit now orange, brown speckled inside with small seeds, 1/2 astringent. 11/9/19: tried two fruit, both orange and starting to yield to pressure a bit. Both with seeds, brown speckled, inedibly astringent. 12/6/19: all leaves off of tree. Birds have destroyed all but 6 fruit. Most have softened. Picked the softest and it had seeds, brown speckles, and was semi-soft and very sweet, with a faint touch of spice. We had several nights in the upper 30s previously. 12/12/19: all remaining fruits destroyed by birds, except for one. All orange and semi-firm. Was not pollinated, was all orange, no brown, no seeds. Taste was very sweet and very astringent at the same time…odd and inedible. Froze the remaining portion of the fruit overnight, then defrosted it in the fridge overnight…now edible, sweet with a tinge of astringency.
DWN Maru is California Maru.
Thanks for the clarification! I love persimmons but I’m often confused by the names for the varieties. There are the many fuyu types and it seems like the Maru/chocolate/coffeecake varieties that DWN sells are different than varieties with the same name sold elsewhere.
Is this a California thing? It seems like I can only buy persimmons from CA nurseries if I live in CA due to import restrictions. In one of the DWN videos Tom Spellman visits the persimmon germplasm collection at UC Irvine and the orchardist tells him that her favorite variety by far is the American Meader. But it doesn’t seem like they are available in CA.
https://www.davewilson.com/community-and-resources/videos/uc-irvine-persimmon-collection
