Prunus dulcis |
Prunus mahaleb |
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almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond |
Mahaleb cherry, Mahaleb or perfumed or St. Lucie cherry, perfumed cherry, St. Lucie cherry |
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Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 30–150 dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with terminal end buds, densely puberulent. |
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 4–20 mm, glabrous or ± puberulent on adaxial surface, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2, discoid; blade broadly ovate, oblong, or suborbiculate, 1.9–4.5 × 1.2–3.4 cm, base usually rounded to truncate, sometimes subcordate, margins crenate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex abruptly acuminate, apicula obtuse, surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes midribs and veins hairy abaxially. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
4–10-flowered, corymbs; central axes 8–40 mm. |
Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
6–18 mm (subtended by leafy bracts), 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 conic-campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals reflexed, oblong, 1.3–2 mm, margins entire, surfaces glabrous; petals white, elliptic to obovate, 6–7 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery (splitting); stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted. |
dark red to black, ovoid, 6–10 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones ellipsoid to subglobose, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Prunus dulcis |
Prunus mahaleb |
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Phenology | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. | Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Jun–Jul. |
Habitat | Roadsides, canyons, grasslands | Roadsides, stream banks, limestone bluffs and quarries, lowland thickets and woods, fencerows, chaparral |
Elevation | 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) | 0–2300 m (0–7500 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
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AL; AR; CA; CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; MI; MO; MT; NC; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; TN; UT; VA; WA; WV; BC; 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.) |
Prunus mahaleb was introduced to North America as a rootstock for commercial cherries and is now sometimes cultivated for its attractive and fragrant flowers. At one time, the aromatic wood was a favorite for tobacco pipes. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 372. | FNA vol. 9, p. 366. |
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) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 474. (1753) |
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