Prunus dulcis |
Prunus fremontii |
|
---|---|---|
almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond |
desert apricot |
|
Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, suckering unknown, much branched, 10–40 dm, thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary 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 1–7 mm, glabrous, eglandular; blade elliptic, ovate, or suborbiculate, 0.6–3 × 0.5–2 cm, base obtuse to rounded, subcordate, or truncate, margins obscurely crenulate, crenulate-serrulate, or serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex usually obtuse to rounded, sometimes emarginate, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
1–3-flowered, umbellate fascicles. |
Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
2–12 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 campanulate, 2–4 mm, glabrous externally; sepals erect-spreading, semicircular to ovate, 1.2–4 mm, margins glandular-toothed, ciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy; petals usually white, sometimes pinkish rose, elliptic, obovate, or suborbiculate, 3–10 mm; ovaries hairy. |
Drupes | gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery (splitting); stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted. |
yellowish, ellipsoid-ovoid, 8–15 mm, densely puberulent; mesocarps leathery to dry (splitting); stones ovoid, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
|
Prunus dulcis |
Prunus fremontii |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. | Flowering Jan–Mar; fruiting Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Roadsides, canyons, grasslands | Dry, sandy or rocky slopes, canyons, desert, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands |
Elevation | 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) | 200–1500 m (700–4900 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
|
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
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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.) |
Prunus fremontii is known only from the western edge of the Sonoran Desert. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 372. | FNA vol. 9, p. 373. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Amygdalus dulcis, A. communis, P. amygdalus | P. eriogyna |
Name authority | (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967) | S. Watson: in W. H. Brewer et al., Bot. California 2: 442. (1880) |
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