per·sim·mon   (pər-sĭm'ən)    n.   Any of various chiefly tropical trees of the genus Diospyros, having hard wood and orange-red fruit that is edible only when completely ripe. The fruit of any of these trees. [Of Virginia Algonquian origin.]

Main Entry: per·sim·mon
Pronunciation: p&r-'sim-&n
Function: noun
1 : any tree or shrub of the genus Diospyros;especially : one (D. virginiana) of the eastern half of the U.S. whose bark has been used as an astringent
2 : the usually orange several-seeded globularberry of a persimmon that is edible when fully ripe but usually extremely astringent when unripe