Prunus dulcis |
Prunus avium |
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almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond |
cerisier des oiseaux, sweet cherry, wild cherry |
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Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. | Trees, not suckering, 60–200 dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
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. |
deciduous; petiole (14–)20–40 mm, nearly glabrous or sparsely hairy adaxially, glandular distally or on margins at bases of blades, glands 1–3, discoid; blade oblong, elliptic-obovate, or obovate, (4–)7–14 × (2.5–)4–8.5 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex abruptly short-acuminate, abaxial surface moderately hairy (especially midribs and veins), adaxial glabrous. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
1–3-flowered, umbellate fascicles. |
Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
(14–)25–52 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. |
blooming at leaf emergence; hypanthium tubular-urceolate, 5–7 mm, glabrous externally; sepals reflexed, oblong, 4–6 mm, margins entire or sparsely and irregularly toothed, surfaces glabrous; petals white, obovate to suborbiculate, 12–15 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery (splitting); stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted. |
dark red to purplish black, globose, 13–30 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones subglobose, not flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Prunus dulcis |
Prunus avium |
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Phenology | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. | Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Jun–Jul. |
Habitat | Roadsides, canyons, grasslands | Roadsides, stream banks, forest edges, disturbed forests |
Elevation | 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) | 0–1600 m (0–5200 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
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AZ; CA; CT; DC; DE; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; UT; VA; WA; WV; WY; BC; NB; NS; ON; Eurasia [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.) |
Cultivars of Prunus avium are grown in North America both for their attractive flowers, especially where the Japanese ornamental cherries are not hardy, and for their sweet fruits. Most of the sweet cherry crop in North America is grown in the Pacific Coast states and in Michigan and Ontario. Most varieties are self-incompatible and require pollen from a variety in a different incompatibility group in order to set fruits. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 372. | FNA vol. 9, p. 368. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Amygdalus dulcis, A. communis, P. amygdalus | P. cerasus var. avium |
Name authority | (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967) | (Linnaeus) Linnaeus: Fl. Suec. ed. 2, 165. (1755) |
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