This tree is widespread across eastern states south of the Wisconsinian Glaciation, but it is generally uncommon to absent on more fertile base-rich soils. The species is generally described as dioecious; in typical male trees, fruits appear to be very rarely produced (pers. obs.), but more may be expected in polyploids (Henry et al. 2018). Further study of variation is needed; see also notes under pubescens. Based on work of Baldwin & Culp (1941), most plants of the Interior Low Plateaus and Southern Appalachians appear to have lower chromosome number than elsewhere in the range (2n = 60 versus 90), also relatively small leaves and small fruit. Price (1900) noted: "I have noted some six or more varieties of this very toothsome fruit in Southern Kentucky; one of medium size that ripens early before frost; one small, turning purple when fully ripe [probably the typical], and still another, of especially fine quality, is quite large, two inches long, and ripens late in December or the first of January." There is indeed a wide range of fruit ripening and dropping dates within eastern Diospyros, with some trees, especially across more southern regions, ripening during late Sep to late Oct, often well before frost;. Other trees ripen after repeated frosts in November or even December. However, there is no clear association of fruit size with ripening date. Small late-ripening fruits tend to turn darker in color, and may be associated with trees that have less low branching and ultimately taller stature. Most mammals larger than rodents in Ky. are known to consume fruits, and seeds may be dispersed through their guts. It is not reasonable to label these fruits as "anachronistic" due to globally extinct (or even locally extinct) dispersal agents (Roehm & Moran 2013, Boone et al. 2015). For comparison of foliage with Nyssa, see notes under N. sylvatica.