In the Madres' Monastery Garden.

Photos from the garden of the Redemptoristine Madres
in
São Fidélis, Brazil.

(click on the photos to see the larger versions)

There are beautiful trees within the enclosure.

The Madres have a persimmon tree.

Plucking some of the persimmon's fruit.

The quiet joy of looking at the fruit you have grown.

I suspect this photo of
the persimmon fruit in the same dish as the bananas,
is because the persimmons are often picked
and then sealed in a bag with very mature bananas
to hasten their ripening.


The persimmon is an astringent.
An astringent (from adstringere meaning "to bind fast") is a chemical compound that tends to shrink or constrict body tissues; in a fruit such as the persimmon or quince it gives the dry, puckering mouthfeel caused by the tannins found in it.

The tannins denature the salivary proteins, causing a rough "sandpapery" sensation in the mouth; if eaten before it is rip the persimmon gives a sensation akin to that of an oral anaesthetic that numbs the tongue and mouth.

May God bless our Madres and send them holy vocations!