Prunus armeniaca |
Prunus dulcis |
|
---|---|---|
albaricoque, apricot, damasco, Siberian apricot |
almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond |
|
Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–100 dm, not thorny. | Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with axillary end buds, glabrous. |
with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
Leaves | deciduous; petiole (12–)20–45 mm, glabrous, glandular distally or on margins at bases of blades, glands 1–5; blade broadly ovate to suborbiculate, (3–)5–9 × (2–)4–8 cm, base usually obtuse to rounded, sometimes truncate or subcordate, margins singly to doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex abruptly short-acuminate, abaxial surface with tufts of hairs in vein axils, adaxial glabrous. |
deciduous; petiole (8–)10–25 mm, usually winged distally, glabrous, usually glandular distally or on margins at bases of blades; blade oblong to lanceolate, 2.5–10 × 1–3 cm, base obtuse, margins crenulate-serrulate to crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers. |
solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
Pedicels | 1–3 mm, hairy. |
1–5 mm, glabrous. |
Flowers | blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium tubular-campanulate, 4–6 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy externally; sepals reflexed, oblong-ovate, 4–6 mm, margins remotely glandular-toothed, surfaces sparsely hairy; petals white (pink in bud), broadly elliptic to suborbiculate, 8–12 mm; ovaries hairy. |
blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium cupulate, 4–7 mm, glabrous externally; sepals erect-spreading to spreading, oblong-ovate, 4–8 mm, margins entire, tomentose, surfaces glabrous; petals pink to nearly white, obovate, elliptic, or suborbiculate, 12–25 mm; ovaries hairy. |
Drupes | yellow to orange, often tinged with red, ellipsoid to globose, laterally compressed, 25–60 mm, velutinous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ellipsoid to subglobose, strongly flattened, not pitted. |
gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery (splitting); stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Prunus armeniaca |
Prunus dulcis |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting May–Jul. | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. |
Habitat | Roadsides, abandoned plantings | Roadsides, canyons, grasslands |
Elevation | 20–1600 m (100–5200 ft) | 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; CO; IA; ID; KS; MI; MO; MT; NM; OR; PA; UT; VA; WA; Asia (China) [Introduced in North America]
|
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
|
Discussion | Commercial production of apricots in North America is in the western United States, mostly in the San Joaquin Valley of California. There is little market for fresh apricots because of their extremely short shelf life; most fruits are preserved by drying. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The United States now dominates world almond production with over 40% of the annual crop, all of it grown in or near the Central Valley of California. The in-shell “nuts” sold in stores are the pits of drupes with the leathery mesocarp removed. Almond is among the earliest blossoming trees and one of the first signs of spring in areas where it is grown. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 375. | FNA vol. 9, p. 372. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Armeniaca vulgaris | Amygdalus dulcis, A. communis, P. amygdalus |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 474. (1753) | (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967) |
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