The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond

cherry-laurel, common cherry laurel, hedge cherry laurel, laurel cherry

Habit Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. Shrubs or trees, sometimes suckering, 20–60(–100) 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.

persistent;

petiole 5–15 mm, glabrous, eglandular;

blade elliptic to obovate, 6–18 × 3–7 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins remotely serrulate or nearly entire, teeth blunt, glandular, apex abruptly short-acuminate, apicula acute, surfaces glabrous, abaxial glandular, glands 1–several, proximal, flat, circular to oval.

Inflorescences

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.

26–32-flowered, racemes;

central axes (35–)55–130 mm, leafless at bases.

Pedicels

1–5 mm, glabrous.

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.

blooming before leaf emergence;

hypanthium cupulate, 3–4 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals spreading, triangular, 0.7–1.2 mm, margins usually entire, sometimes with deciduous glands, ciliate in spots, surfaces glabrous or hairy;

petals white, obovate or broadly elliptic to suborbiculate, 3–5 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

Drupes

gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous;

mesocarps leathery (splitting);

stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted.

deep purple-red to nearly black, ovoid to conic-ovoid, 13–17 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy to leathery;

stones ovoid, not flattened.

2n

= 16.

Prunus dulcis

Prunus laurocerasus

Phenology Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Aug–Nov.
Habitat Roadsides, canyons, grasslands Riparian thickets, shaded ravines, understory of urban and second-growth forests
Elevation 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) 0–600 m (0–2000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Flowering specimens of Prunus laurocerasus with small leaves and entire margins that otherwise resemble P. caroliniana can be identified by their larger hypanthia and longer petals. In fruit, the stone is much harder in P. laurocerasus and does not split open upon drying; the flesh around the stone is thicker and more succulent.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 372. FNA vol. 9, p. 362.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus
Sibling taxa
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. angustifolia, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. caroliniana, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, P. fasciculata, P. fremontii, P. geniculata, P. glandulosa, P. gracilis, P. havardii, P. hortulana, P. ilicifolia, P. laurocerasus, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. maritima, P. mexicana, P. minutiflora, P. murrayana, P. myrtifolia, P. nigra, P. padus, P. pensylvanica, P. persica, P. pumila, P. rivularis, P. serotina, P. speciosa, P. spinosa, P. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. angustifolia, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. caroliniana, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, P. fasciculata, P. fremontii, P. geniculata, P. glandulosa, P. gracilis, P. havardii, P. hortulana, P. ilicifolia, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. maritima, P. mexicana, P. minutiflora, P. murrayana, P. myrtifolia, P. nigra, P. padus, P. pensylvanica, P. persica, P. pumila, P. rivularis, P. serotina, P. speciosa, P. spinosa, P. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
Synonyms Amygdalus dulcis, A. communis, P. amygdalus
Name authority (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 474. (1753)
Web links