Home > Plants > Ebenaceae > Diospyros sandwicensis

Updated 10/1/2023

Family Ebenaceae

HAWAII - ENDEMIC

Diospyros sandwicensis   

Kanaio, Maui

 

HAWAIIAN PERSIMMON    LAMA

Locally common in dry & mesic, occasionally wet forests of the Main Hawaiian Islands.  Smooth pale green leaves 1.5 - 3.5 inches long, thick, waxy with fine hairs, young leaves reddish.  Orange 1 inch fruits are edible.  Both native species were once confused with Diospyros ferrea, a widespread species from Africa through the Pacific.