Growing on the south side of MU’s Lefevre Hall is a grouping of three trees that, at eye level, exhibit unique, nearly black bark arranged in a blocky mosaic that has been likened to alligator skin.

The common name of Diospyros virginiana, persimmon, comes from the Powhatan language and means “a dry fruit.” The persimmon's “dry fruit” quality is most immediately noticed in the unripe, astringent ...