Prunus armeniaca
Prunus rivularis
albaricoque, apricot, damasco, Siberian apricot
creek plum, creek plume, hog plume
with axillary end buds, glabrous.
with axillary end buds, glabrous.
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 7–21 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy on adaxial surface, glandular distally, glands 1–4;
blade lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or elliptic to narrowly elliptic, usually folded along midribs, 4–11 × 1.5–5 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins singly to doubly crenate-serrulate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands inconspicuous, blackish, apex usually acuminate, sometimes acute, abaxial surface glabrous or ± hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial usually glabrous, rarely midribs hairy.
solitary flowers.
2–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles.
1–3 mm, hairy.
3–15 mm, glabrous.
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 or at leaf emergence;
hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, usually glabrous, rarely glabrate, externally;
sepals broadly spreading to reflexed, oblong-ovate, 1.5–2.5 mm, margins glandular-toothed, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely hairy, adaxial densely hairy at bases;
petals white, obovate, 4–7 mm;
ovaries glabrous.
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.
usually red, sometimes yellowish orange, with white dots, not or only slightly glaucous, globose, 12–25 mm, glabrous;
mesocarps fleshy;
stones ovoid to subglobose, ± flattened.
= 16.
Prunus armeniaca
Prunus rivularis
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 munsoniana is here placed in synonymy with P. rivularis, greatly expanding the range of the latter compared to its traditional treatment. Descriptions of P. munsoniana and P. rivularis differ mostly in size of the plants, leaves, and floral structures. As suggested by G. M. Diggs et al. (1999), P. munsoniana is simply a larger version of P. rivularis.
Evidence from analysis of DNA sequences of two nuclear genes in native plums (J. R. Rohrer et al. 2008) indicates that Prunus rivularis may be an allopolyploid. Three plants sequenced from Texas contained alleles seemingly derived from P. angustifolia on the one hand and P. hortulana (or P. murrayana) on the other. Further, two individuals determined as P. munsoniana, one each from Pennsylvania and Texas, had sequences very similar to those of P. rivularis.
Other specimens in herbaria labeled as Prunus munsoniana include hybrids between P. americana and P. angustifolia, as well as individuals of P. hortulana that bloom before the leaves emerge or that sucker freely.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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