Prunus dulcis |
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almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond |
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Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
Leaves | 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 or 2-flowered fascicles. |
Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
Flowers | 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 | gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery (splitting); stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted. |
2n | = 16. |
Prunus dulcis |
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Phenology | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. |
Habitat | Roadsides, canyons, grasslands |
Elevation | 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | 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. 372. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | Amygdalus dulcis, A. communis, P. amygdalus |
Name authority | (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967) |
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