What kind of tree is this

[dnalley]

 







  Thanks, Dwight

[dnalley]

Sorry, I had a little info in the post, but I guess it got lost in my feeble efforts.
It's on my brother's farm. (Georgia) I told him I think it's a persimmon but I've never seen one this large or this straight.  'Bout 60-65 feewt tall.  Any ideas?  Thanks, Dwight

[WDH]

Persimmon.  What a nice log!  I want it .  Pretty please .  I sawed one not too long ago, and it is beautiful wood.  I need some more!  It is really hard to find in a log like that one.  Sawn and the lumber sold, that tree is worth close to $1000.  I sold some to several folks on the west coast for $5.00 per board foot in 8/4 thickness. 

[thompsontimber]

Definetely persimmon, won't be one of those fun to read debates on this one.

[woodtroll]

Nice looking persimmon, what is the DBH?

[dnalley]

Just guessing from memory, but I think around 12-14 inches DBH.

[Lanier_Lurker]

Wow, that is a big persimmon - and mighty straight too.

WDH, I know that persimmon is used for baseball bats and golf club heads, but I have never heard of any uses for it in lumber form.  It is just a specialty item?

[pineywoods]

WDH, next time you go to ruston, bring a pickup, take state hwy 33 east when you start home. That will take you right by my place. I just sawed up 2 persimon logs 5/4 X 10 X 12 ft. No idea what to do with it, yours for the taking...

[thompsontimber]

DanG WDH, I need to start selling you my persimmon logs!  They are few and far between, but we do run across pretty nice persimmon logs on occassion.  Always end up having to sell them for "miscellaneous hardwood" or pallet stock.

[woodtroll]

It seems to be one of those trees we all know should be worth more but can never sell it for more when we have it.
The boards I had warped like a pretzel.
I have seen them get bigger, maxing out around 18-20 dbh, that would be in the well drained bottom sites.

[SwampDonkey]

I saw some nice ones down in southwestern NC before, they were growing in a pasture and had ripe fruit on them in October. They didn't seem to be real tall, but at least 16" at breast height.

[Dodgy Loner]

I'm curious too, Danny.  Did those folks who bought your persimmon say what they wanted it for?  I like persimmon, but not quite that much.

[thompsontimber]

Well I just happen to be in southwest North Carolina, and I have seen some pretty nice persimmons on occassion.  In fact, we got one on one of our properties, and I'll try to get a pic (lots a stuff I gotta get a pic of for yall.  Camera broke and being in the timber business, I sure can't afford another one  )  I'll get a DBH for you on it too.  Its not very tall either, but has a monster butt log.  Can also get a pic of the honeylocust that is on the ground about 50 feet from it too...its a real monster, came down in a storm last year and is still lying there.  Biggest honeylocust I've ever seen, but then I haven't seen too many big ones to compare it with.

[WDH]

I saw an ad in the Fine Woodworking classifieds on-line for "native persimmon" for making wooden planes.  One guy in California bought some that he planned to bandsaw thin for veneer.  The other guy is a martial arts instructor who manufactures martial arts fighting sticks.  He was using dense tropical hardwoods, but wanted to make a market using unique domestic woods versus imported woods. 

Who knows, that may be the last two sales ever for persimmon  .  However, like Tom always says, it is all about marketing.  Of course, persimmon was the preferred wood for golf club woods when woods where made of wood and not metal.  I believe the key is to cater to the unique properties of the wood, semi ring porous like walnut with a walnut-like grain but lighter, very strong and dense, shock resistant, and relatively difficult to acquire.  Another interesting feature is the black inclusions, especially at the nodes (point of a leaf on a branch or at the junction of a branch with the the larger stem).  Persimmon is in the ebony family, hence the black inclusions.  It would be wonderful for a small 3 drawer chest, or maybe an accent table. 

It is a beautiful, relatively rare (in large log form), and has some unique properties.  What a fine North American tree with a wonderful fruit.  It should be worth $5.00 a board foot in my opinion for thick stock.  Hey, you get what you expect right??  I realize that making a few sales for small amounts does not constitute a new "market value" so take all my rhetoric with a grain of salt.

Pineywoods, I am definitely coming to see you one day when I get back to North Louisiana later this spring.  Not sure that I will be armed with a pick-up truck though.  Delta airlines might not take kindly to persimmon lumber in the carry-on baggage .

Woodtroll, mine dried pretty straight, but having heard of its propensity for drying problems, I put it on the bottom of a large stack.  Or, maybe this log did not have the usual amount of growth stress.  The next one I saw will probably contort all over the place .

Thompsontimber, I would gladly pay $60 per ton for persimmon logs that were 10" on the small end.  The problem is that trees of this size are very hard to find, and then they just get mixed in with the woods run sawlogs and pallet logs.

[fishpharmer]

One of the nicest looking fireplace mantles I have ever laid eyes on was of a large, probably 6x12  piece of persimmon.  The guy owned lots of land and had a good sized circle mill.  I have been a fan of persimmon since.  I got a couple ten inch or twelve inch trees on my place.  Hate to cut them as they are deer magnets.

[WDH]

I have one that is 15" DBH and 70 feet tall.  A real beaut, but it is a boy, so no persimmons  .

[fishpharmer]

WDH do you know how long it takes a persimmon to get the size of your tree? 

[WDH]

Estimating the age of the trees around this one, I would say 50 years. 

[SwampDonkey]

Well I just happen to be in southwest North Carolina, and I have seen some pretty nice persimmons on occassion. 

 I knew I wasn't dreaming. Although, it was a whirlwind tour. I saw a lot of nice country down there with my friend who was working with VT and state forestry folks on southern pine beetle. We even had a stop over at one of the forestry offices in NC. Now I forget the place but was in the hills and not fair away from a shooting range of a gun club which we also visited.