Diospyros - Ecology

Ecology

Diospyros species are important and conspicuous trees in many of their native ecosystems, such as lowland dry forests of the former Maui Nui in Hawaii, Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests, Kathiarbar-Gir dry deciduous forests, Louisiade Archipelago rain forests, Madagascar lowland forests, Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests, New Guinea mangroves or South Western Ghats montane rain forests. The fruits are rich in tannins and thus avoided by most herbivores when unripe; when ripe they are eagerly eaten by many animals however, such as the rare Aders' Duiker (Cephalophus adersi).

The foliage is used as food by the larvae of numerous Lepidoptera species:

Arctiidae:

• Eupseudosoma aberrans
• Eupseudosoma involutum (Snowy Eupseudosoma)
• Hypercompe indecisa

Geometridae:

• Gymnoscelis rufifasciata (Double-striped Pug) – recorded on persimmons

Limacodidae:

• Monema flavescens

Lycaenidae:

• Neopithecops zalmora (Quaker)

Nymphalidae:

• Charaxes khasianus (Kihansi Charaxes) – recorded on D. natalensis
• Dophla evelina (Redspot Duke) – recorded on D. candolleana

Saturniidae:

• Actias luna (Luna Moth) – recorded on persimmons
• Callosamia promethea (Promethea Silkmoth) – recorded on persimmons
• Citheronia regalis (Regal Moth) – recorded on American Persimmon (D. virginiana)

Tortricidae:

• "Cnephasia" jactatana (Black-lyre Leafroller Moth)

An economically significant plant pathogen infecting many Diospyros species – D. hispida, Kaki Persimmon (D. kaki), Date-plum (D. lotus), Texas Persimmon (D. texana), Coromandel Ebony (D. melanoxylon) and probably others – is the sac fungus Pseudocercospora kaki, which causes a leaf spot disease.