Diospyros armata Hemsl.

A semi-evergreen tree of sturdy, rounded habit 20 ft high, much branched the branchlets clothed with a thick minute down, and occasionally terminated by a stout thorn. Leaves 1⁄2 to 21⁄2 in. long, 1⁄2 to 11⁄4 in. wide, entire, the smaller ones roundish, the larger ones oval, tapered about equally at both ends, blunt or rounded at the apex, dark shining green, the midrib minutely downy above, minutely hairy beneath; the blade is specked with minute transparent dots; stalk 1⁄8 in. or less long. Flowers not seen. Fruit yellow, roundish, 3⁄4 in. in diameter, furnished with appressed bristles; borne on a stalk about 1⁄2 in. long and set in a persistent calyx, the four lobes of which are ovate, 1⁄2 in. long.

Native of Central China; discovered by Henry, introduced by Wilson in 1904, and now growing in the open air at Kew apparently quite hardy, and forming a sturdy bush. In the original description the leaves are described as persistent, but cultivated plants are quite deciduous in hard winters.