Prunus armeniaca |
Prunus geniculata |
|
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albaricoque, apricot, damasco, Siberian apricot |
scrub plum |
|
Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–100 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, sometimes suckering, much branched, 5–10(–20) dm, thorny. |
Twigs | with axillary end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, hairy. |
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 3–6 mm, hairy on adaxial surface, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2, discoid; blade elliptic, 0.8–2.5 × 0.4–1.3 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins crenulate-serrulate in distal 1/2, nearly entire on smaller leaves, teeth blunt, glandular, apex obtuse to rounded, mucronate, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers. |
solitary flowers. |
Pedicels | 1–3 mm, hairy. |
0–3 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. |
usually bisexual with some staminate flowers on same plant, blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals erect to spreading, ovate, 1–1.5 mm, margins entire, ciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy; petals white, elliptic, 2 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
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. |
reddish, ovoid, 12–25 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ovoid, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
|
Prunus armeniaca |
Prunus geniculata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting May–Jul. | Flowering Jan–Feb; fruiting Mar–May. |
Habitat | Roadsides, abandoned plantings | Longleaf pine-turkey oak sandhills, pine-evergreen oak scrub |
Elevation | 20–1600 m (100–5200 ft) | 10–50 m (0–200 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; CO; IA; ID; KS; MI; MO; MT; NM; OR; PA; UT; VA; WA; Asia (China) [Introduced in North America]
|
FL |
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.) |
Of conservation concern. Prunus geniculata is known only from the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida. Much of its original habitat has been lost to residential, recreational, and agricultural development; it received federal listing as an endangered species in 1987. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 375. | FNA vol. 9, p. 378. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Armeniaca vulgaris | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 474. (1753) | R. M. Harper: Torreya 11: 67. (1911) |
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