Prunus dulcis |
Prunus minutiflora |
|
---|---|---|
almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond |
Texas almond |
|
Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, suckering, much branched, 10–20 dm, weakly thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, canescent. |
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 1–2(–6) mm, glabrous, eglandular; blade elliptic or obovate, 0.5–1.6(–3.5) × 0.3–0.8(–2.1) cm, base cuneate, margins usually entire, sometimes irregularly serrulate (sometimes dentate on long shoots), teeth sharp to blunt, eglandular, some callus-tipped, apex usually obtuse to rounded, sometimes apiculate, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
solitary flowers. |
Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
0–2 mm, puberulent. |
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. |
unisexual, plants dioecious, blooming at leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals spreading, triangular, 0.7–1.5 mm, margins entire, surfaces glabrous; petals white, obovate, 2–3.5 mm; ovaries hairy. |
Drupes | gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery (splitting); stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted. |
reddish brown, globose to ovoid, 9–12 mm, puberulent; hypanthium tardily deciduous; mesocarps leathery to dry (slightly splitting); stones ovoid to subglobose, not flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
|
Prunus dulcis |
Prunus minutiflora |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting May–Jun. |
Habitat | Roadsides, canyons, grasslands | Dry rocky streambeds and uplands, limestone hills, ledges |
Elevation | 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) | 100–700 m (300–2300 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
|
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.) |
Prunus minutiflora is a rare species limited to central Texas around the Edwards Plateau. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 372. | FNA vol. 9, p. 370. |
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 ex A. Gray: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 6: 185. (1850) |
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