Persimmon: The Fruit of Zeus
This American species is in the Ebony family. In the past it was sold as logs to a Japanese firm that cut it into guitar finger boards, dyed it very black, the re-sold it to American guitar manufacturers as Ebony. The tree is well known for its delicious orange fruit and bark, resembling alligator hide. Like black gum, persimmon is a prolific sprouter. Persimmon wood is hard and dense. It is used for golf club heads, handles for files and carving tools, billiard cues, shuttles and mallets.