Diospyros australis is the most southerly of the group of some 450 ebonies and persimmons. It is a shrub or small tree growing in rainforests of seaward eastern Australia. The habitat is in a variety of different rainforest forms, though not often seen in the cool temperate rainforests. The range of natural distribution is from Durras Lake (35° S) near Batemans Bay in south east New South Wales, to Atherton (17° S) in tropical Queensland. Common names include black plum and yellow persimmon. "Grey plum", sometimes used for this species, usually denotes its northern relative D. pentamera.