Prunus dulcis |
Prunus gracilis |
|
---|---|---|
almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond |
Oklahoma plum, Oklahoma plume |
|
Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, suckering, 3–15 dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, densely hairy. |
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 3–8 mm, densely hairy, usually eglandular, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–3, discoid; blade usually ovate or elliptic, rarely obovate, 2–5(–7) × 1–2.5(–3.6) cm, base obtuse to cuneate, margins finely, singly or doubly serrulate, teeth sharp, usually eglandular, sometimes glandular, glands blackish, spheric, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surface densely hairy, adaxial sparsely hairy. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
2–4(–6)-flowered, umbellate fascicles. |
Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
4–15 mm, hairy. |
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 before or at leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, hairy externally; sepals erect to spreading, ovate-oblong, 1.5–2.5 mm, margins usually entire, sometimes glandular-toothed or eglandular, sometimes ciliate, surfaces hairy; petals white, oblong to obovate, 4–7 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery (splitting); stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted. |
yellow, orange, or red, slightly glaucous, globose to ellipsoid, 9–18 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones subglobose to ellipsoid, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
|
Prunus dulcis |
Prunus gracilis |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. | Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Roadsides, canyons, grasslands | Sandy roadsides, upland thickets, open woods, waste places |
Elevation | 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) | 100–1300 m (300–4300 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
|
AR; CO; KS; LA; NM; OK; TX |
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.) |
Typically, sepals of Prunus gracilis are eglandular; in some specimens, glands occur along the margins. Similar glands are sometimes found on the tips of teeth along the leaf margins. The teeth are always sharp-pointed rather than blunt or rounded as they are in those plums whose leaves consistently have glandular teeth. Presence of glands on the sepals is not correlated with glands on leaf marginal teeth. Prunus gracilis, native to the southern Great Plains, is very similar to P. maritima, a plum of the eastern seaboard over 1600 km away. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 372. | FNA vol. 9, p. 380. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | 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) | Engelmann & A. Gray: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 5: 243. (1845) |
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