Ebenaceae

Simple, leathery alternate leaves on trees famed for hard, dark heartwood; flowers are unisexual with a thick, persistent calyx that stays attached and enlarges beneath the ripening berry, forming the papery cap seen under a persimmon.

Source of true ebony timber — some of the densest, darkest wood known — alongside the sweet, astringent-until-ripe persimmon fruit.

To check whether a plant belongs to Ebenaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.