The Reverend Diane Bishop Corlett
PERSIMMON Diospyros Virginiana “Eastern Persimmon”, “Possomwood.” Reverend Corlett’s obituary can be found at the bottom of this pst.
Description: Dense, cylindrical tree with oval to rounded crown it grows to 20-70’ though also as a shrub. Overall shapes may vary. The name means “divine fruit” in Greek. It is also called “God’s pear”.
Leaves: Deciduous, they are elliptical with little or no serration, shiny dark green on top and paler below as well as hairless or hairy. Fall color is yellow to reddish purple.
Flowers and Fruit: Flowers are fragrant and scattered usually on separate male and female trees. Fruit is light to dark orange and globular. It matures in the fall often staying till winter. Flesh is astringent though less so after a frost. Classed as a berry it has high glucose content. The tree must be 7-8 years old to bear fruit.
Bark: Brown to blackish and thick, it forms small square scaly plates. Twigs are slightly zigzag.
Habitat: This tree is found from Connecticut to Florida, Texas to Iowa. It is found in moist and dry soil, in abandoned fields, by roadsides and in mixed forests. They grow fast and colonize off root systems.
Wildlife Value: Provides fruit for many birds and animals such as opossum, deer, raccoons, foxes and deer. It is poisonous to horses.
Uses: Billiard cues and golf club heads, percussion mallets and drumsticks, flutes, longbows, and veneer. Though it cracks easily its heartwood is used as a substitute for ebony. Outer wood is high in manganese, fiber and Vitamin C and can be eaten raw, dried or cooked.
History: The name comes from an Algonquin language.
Sources: Wikipedia, wiki/trees; The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern Region, E L Little, 1980; Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, M A Dirr, 2009
The Rev. Diane Bishop Corlett, Class of 1986, General Seminary in New York, died on Sunday, January 10, 2021, in Raleigh, North Carolina at the age of 70. Corlett contracted coronavirus while recovering in a local hospital from an unrelated illness. Sadly, her husband Fred Corlett, always by her side, also caught the virus and died four days later. One of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of North Carolina, Corlett was the former (and the first) rector of Church of the Nativity in Raleigh. She was a leader in the Diocese of North Carolina’s deaf ministry and a passionate activist against the death penalty in North Carolina. Corlett was also an active supporter of the music and arts community in Raleigh and Fred Corlett was a familiar face for decades in local theater. She touched the lives of many, as priest, mentor, and counselor. Diane grew up in North Carolina, graduating from Raleigh Broughton High School where she met her husband. She was an outstanding musician and priest. Diane was assistant rector at All Saints’ Concord, NC before being called as vicar to Christ Episcopal Church in Cleveland, NC. She was a beloved friend. Diane and Fred are survived by their son, David.