Youtor
The Native Persimmon Tree of the Month
>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=KigVjA79bfw
Persimmons have a long history of use in the New World. They provided food and medicine to Native Americans, European colonists and later immigrants. Persimmons have been used medicinally for hemorrhaging diarrhea, dysentery, diphtheria, dropsy, fevers gonorrhea, hemorrhoids, syphilis, thrush, etc. Persimmon wood is hard and is prized for gun stocks and tools such as mallets and wedges. During the American Civil War, the Confederacy discovered that the seeds could be used to make buttons as well as a coffee substitute. Two species of persimmon trees are native to North America: The Common Persimmon (also called American or Eastern Persimmon), Diospyros virginiana, and the Texas Persimmon (also called Mexican or Black Persimmon), Diospyros texana. • Despite extensive efforts to communicate the value of native persimmon trees, the fruit never caught on as a horticultural crop. Persimmon trees native to the Americas were eclipsed at the end of the 19th century by Japanese persimmons, that have larger fruit. • Rest assured, native persimmon trees are alive and well in the forests of North America. You can enjoy their benefits, just as folks in the past did. The US Department of Agriculture, for example, in 1915 published Farmers’ Bulletin 685 that included included detailed information about the Common Persimmon and a list of recipes for this important plant. • I made the recipe for “Persimmon Cake: 1 cup of persimmon pulp, 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 egg, butter the size of a walnut. Bake 40 minutes in a moderate oven. For a soft pudding, leave out the eggs. For a custard leave out the flour and baking powder. • References: • The Native Persimmon by W. F. Fletcher, United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers’ Bulletin 685, October 12, 1915 https://archive.org/stream/nativepers... • The Common Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana L.): The history of an underutilized fruit tree (16th–19th centuries) by C. H. Briand, HUNTIA 12(1) 2005 http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~chbrian... • Common Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana L.) US Forest Service http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_... • Texas Persimmon (Diospyros texana) http://www.foragingtexas.com/2012/01/... http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/pl... • Vintage Cookbooks: Links to original recipes from pre 1800s to 1900s http://vintagecookbooks.healthyeating... • Videography by Ken Kramm, 10 October 2015, Texas, USA; Canon Vixia HF G10, iPhone 6+, Final Cut Pro X. Public Domain sketches and Creative Commons Photo of Common Persimmon Fruit by Doug McAbee, Flickr, October 10, 2009. Thumbnail cover photo of common persimmon by John Warner, W.G. Jones State Forest. Wake up, America! Judas’ Society Orchestra, Creative Commons http:cylinders.library.UCSB. Pick me up and lay me down in dear old Dixieland. Don Parker Trio Creative Commons http:cylinders.library.UCSB
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