Persimmon Seed Predictions

My first experience with persimmon fruit was at a friend’s house when I was in high school. He told me to bite into it because it was delicious. All I remember is that it was one of the worse things that I have ever tried in my life. It was unripe which meant it was very astringent and it felt like my mouth was coated with something that just made me pucker, pucker and pucker some more. 

A few years ago, a colleague of mine brought in persimmons he harvested. Flashbacks of my previous experience came to mind and I thought, “oh, no, not again”. Because I didn’t want to disappoint him by not trying one, I decided that I would eat one. To my delight it was sweet and delicious, and not at all like my experience years ago.

                                  

                                 

 Here are some interesting things to note about the American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana):

• Native to the Eastern United States (not to be confused with the Japanese persimmon, Diospyros kaki, which is a favorite cultivated species often found in grocery stores).
• Harvest fruit in the fall after the first frost. WATCH OUT! If you eat them before they are ripe they will be very astringent and make your mouth pucker.
• It’s best if you allow the fruit to ripen and fall to the ground instead of harvesting right off the tree. (Persimmon trees can grow to 50-60 ft tall making it difficult to harvest right off the tree).
• The pulp from the persimmon fruit is made into bread, pies and pudding.
• Persimmon folklore: their seeds predict winter weather.

One of my favorite things I have learned about persimmons since living in Missouri is that they predict the upcoming winter weather. Want to find out if you need to settle in for a long snowy winter by the fire or whether your shovel will have a break this season?   

Here is how you do it:

1. After harvesting the fruit, save the large black seeds. Washing them off and drying them with a towel will make the task of cutting them in half easier. 

The seeds, before getting washed.

2. Get your tools together. You will need a very sharp knife, a pair of pliers, and a cutting board. 

All the tools you'll need.

3. Hold the seed using the pliers so that you can see the "seam" of the seed from the top. You will cut down this line, splitting the seed longitudinally.

Sharp knives work best.

4. Pry the seed open and look inside. What you will see will resemble a spoon, fork or knife. Botanically when you look inside the seed, you are seeing the endosperm and cotyledon. It is the shape of the cotyledon that we are looking at to predict our winter.

Cut open persimmon seed.

           

Spoon: You’ll be shoveling lots of snow this winter

Fork: Winter will be mild

Knife: It will be bitter cold

What are the persimmon seeds telling us this year?  SPOONS! So, for those of us in the St. Louis area, make sure your shovels are in good working condition for this winter season.                                                                   

 Content written by Karen Walker, ethnobotanist and the American Indian Ethnobotany Program Manager