Prunus armeniaca |
Prunus minutiflora |
|
---|---|---|
albaricoque, apricot, damasco, Siberian apricot |
Texas almond |
|
Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–100 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, suckering, much branched, 10–20 dm, weakly thorny. |
Twigs | with axillary end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, canescent. |
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 1–2(–6) mm, glabrous, eglandular; blade elliptic or obovate, 0.5–1.6(–3.5) × 0.3–0.8(–2.1) cm, base cuneate, margins usually entire, sometimes irregularly serrulate (sometimes dentate on long shoots), teeth sharp to blunt, eglandular, some callus-tipped, apex usually obtuse to rounded, sometimes apiculate, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers. |
solitary flowers. |
Pedicels | 1–3 mm, hairy. |
0–2 mm, puberulent. |
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. |
unisexual, plants dioecious, blooming at leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals spreading, triangular, 0.7–1.5 mm, margins entire, surfaces glabrous; petals white, obovate, 2–3.5 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. |
reddish brown, globose to ovoid, 9–12 mm, puberulent; hypanthium tardily deciduous; mesocarps leathery to dry (slightly splitting); stones ovoid to subglobose, not flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
|
Prunus armeniaca |
Prunus minutiflora |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting May–Jul. | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting May–Jun. |
Habitat | Roadsides, abandoned plantings | Dry rocky streambeds and uplands, limestone hills, ledges |
Elevation | 20–1600 m (100–5200 ft) | 100–700 m (300–2300 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; CO; IA; ID; KS; MI; MO; MT; NM; OR; PA; UT; VA; WA; Asia (China) [Introduced in North America]
|
TX |
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.) |
Prunus minutiflora is a rare species limited to central Texas around the Edwards Plateau. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 375. | FNA vol. 9, p. 370. |
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) | Engelmann ex A. Gray: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 6: 185. (1850) |
Web links |