High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Diospyros virginiana, commonly called the American persimmon,common persimmon,Eastern persimmon, "`simmon" and "possumwood", is a persimmon species known by a variety of names including. It ranges from New England to Florida, and west to Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The tree grows wild but has been cultivated for its fruit and wood since prehistoric times by Native Americans.