Virginia Persimmon - Poster 50x70cm

Diospyros virginiana - American Persimmon

In the early 19th century, the American persimmon intrigued European botanists with its golden fruits and unique biology: only half of the trees bear fruit, while the other half contribute to their fertilization.

Poiteau meticulously observed this American tree, 5 to 8 meters tall, with a rounded silhouette and supple branches, whose vermilion-yellow fruits, sometimes flushed with bright red, are consumed after the first frosts.

In France, this botanical curiosity remained more an object of study than a table fruit, yet it fascinated with its natural elegance.

The American persimmon is distinguished by its alternate, oblong leaves, a cheerful, tender green on the upper surface, slightly glaucous and hairy on the underside.

Its yellowish, discreet flowers give rise to rounded fruits approximately 27 millimeters in diameter, supported by a calyx that has become leathery.

The yellow flesh, soft and viscous, possesses a slightly tart sweetness that mellows when fully ripe. Americans make cider from it and prepare astringent cakes after crushing the pulp and separating the four to eight compressed seeds each fruit contains.

Picked in late October, persimmon improves on straw like a medlar, with the advantage of long-term preservation without spoilage.

This plate is taken from Pierre-Antoine Poiteau and Pierre Jean François Turpin's Traité des Arbres Fruitiers (Treatise on Fruit Trees), a botanical encyclopedia published between 1807 and 1835, a major reference in 19th-century naturalistic illustration.

It combines the rigor of scientific drawing with a rare artistic sensibility, characteristic of the great plates from the golden age of illustrated botany.

• Each poster is produced using 12-color Giclée printing, the benchmark for art studios for rendering fine tones, subtle gradients, and the most delicate botanical details.
• 200 gsm paper weight, soft matte finish, 0.26 mm thickness: a result close to the original engraving, clear, non-reflective, designed for hanging.
• Printed on FSC-certified paper, printed individually to order.
• Shipped in a rigid protective tube.