Indian Persimmon - Diospyros embryopteris

Common Name :	Indian Persimmon.
Botanical Name :	Diospyros embryopteris
Family :	Ebenaceae
Bengali Name :	Gaab, gab.
Photo Taken :	Bangladesh

Indian Persimmon is a popular fruit in village area of Bangladesh. But in town it doesn't have that much value. In Bangladesh we call this Gaab. Botanical name of the plant is Diospyros embryopteris and belongs to family Ebenaceae. It has other common names such as Malabar ebony, Mountain ebony, etc. This plant is native to South and Southeast Asia.

Indian Persimmon (Diospyros embryopteris) is a slow growing evergreen plant. This plant doesn't grow that much in height but brings plenty of green leafs. Which makes the tree very dense. Leafs are long slender with lovely foliage. New born leafs are having a color of coffee. Bark of the tree is black. The plant grows nice in shady and wet area. That's why this is often seen around the bamboo bush in our village.

I have't seen any Indian Persimmon (Diospyros embryopteris) flower yet. But male and female flowers are different. Fruits are small round shaped with rufous or chestnut color. People use to eat the ripe fruit, but I've only tasted the green or immature fruit. When it is immature the seed (or stone) of the fruit is very soft and I liked it. Although the fruit is sticky when it is green. People used to put black color under the boat with the dye made from the sticky things.

There is a myth available regarding the Indian Persimmon tree. Village people consider this tree as a host for the ghosts. The reason behind this is the thick and dense leaf of the plant. With a mysterious wind during a moonlight night (or during moonless night) can make some eerie situation.

There is also a proverb available related to this fruit in our country. We call it Gaber Hajar (গাবের হাজার) to mean something is very cheap. The literal meaning of this Bangla phrase is "thousands of Indian Persommon".

Photos of Indian Persimmon (Diospyros embryopteris) were taken from Ramna park, Dhaka of Bangladesh. It was during June 2015 while I was having a regular visit to the park for birds and flowers. In Bangladesh this plant is known as Gab (গাব).


This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icflora.blogspot.com/