West Virginia Wild Persimmon Trees

My favorite trees on the property are the wild persimmons. They're american persimmons, diospyros virginiana. 

There's a cluster of them in an open section of the forest where there aren't any pine trees to crowd them out. The persimmons stand out with their unique bark and edible fruit. 

Persimmon fuit

The fruit grows high up in the trees during the summer, and as fall approaches, they begin to drop to the ground. At first, the persimmons taste astringent and bitter. Spit them out and wait. As the temperatures turn colder, the fruits ripen and sweeten. They taste similar to apricots with a jelly-like texture. 

Persimmon fruit still high in the trees as winter approaches

The unique bark of the wild persimmon trees stand out in the forest

As winter approaches, all the persimmons fall to the ground. Many animals gorge on the fruit. The animals leave their droppings around the trees. That gives me a hint of which animals have been near, including black bears. I see the seeds of the persimmons in the animal's droppings, so they're helping to start the next tree. 

The most interesting thing about the persimmon trees, however, is hugging them. When I hug them, I feel their energy. They radiate soothing calmness. And I feel loved. 

Hugging the persimmon tree