Trees to 30 m tall. Trunk to 1.3 m d.b.h. Leaf blade glabrous or sometimes abaxially pubescent mainly on veins.

Fruit of Diospyros lotus are consumed fresh or preserved, used in Chinese traditional medicine, and brewed into wine or vinegar. Unripe fruit yield persimmon lacquer

Thickets on slopes or in ravines; 500--2500 m. Anhui, Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [SW Asia, W Asia, S Europe, naturalized in countries around the Mediterranean].