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almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond

creek plum, creek plume, hog plume

Habit Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. Shrubs or trees, usually suckering, 10–80 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 7–21 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy on adaxial surface, glandular distally, glands 1–4;

blade lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or elliptic to narrowly elliptic, usually folded along midribs, 4–11 × 1.5–5 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins singly to doubly crenate-serrulate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands inconspicuous, blackish, apex usually acuminate, sometimes acute, abaxial surface glabrous or ± hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial usually glabrous, rarely midribs hairy.

Inflorescences

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.

2–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles.

Pedicels

1–5 mm, glabrous.

3–15 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 or at leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, usually glabrous, rarely glabrate, externally;

sepals broadly spreading to reflexed, oblong-ovate, 1.5–2.5 mm, margins glandular-toothed, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely hairy, adaxial densely hairy at bases;

petals white, obovate, 4–7 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

Drupes

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

mesocarps leathery (splitting);

stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted.

usually red, sometimes yellowish orange, with white dots, not or only slightly glaucous, globose, 12–25 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ovoid to subglobose, ± flattened.

2n

= 16.

Prunus dulcis

Prunus rivularis

Phenology Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting Jul–Sep.
Habitat Roadsides, canyons, grasslands Stream banks, roadside thickets, prairie hillsides, borders of woods
Elevation 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) 200–1000 m (700–3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; CO; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; OH; OK; PA; TN; TX
[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.)

Prunus munsoniana is here placed in synonymy with P. rivularis, greatly expanding the range of the latter compared to its traditional treatment. Descriptions of P. munsoniana and P. rivularis differ mostly in size of the plants, leaves, and floral structures. As suggested by G. M. Diggs et al. (1999), P. munsoniana is simply a larger version of P. rivularis.

Evidence from analysis of DNA sequences of two nuclear genes in native plums (J. R. Rohrer et al. 2008) indicates that Prunus rivularis may be an allopolyploid. Three plants sequenced from Texas contained alleles seemingly derived from P. angustifolia on the one hand and P. hortulana (or P. murrayana) on the other. Further, two individuals determined as P. munsoniana, one each from Pennsylvania and Texas, had sequences very similar to those of P. rivularis.

Other specimens in herbaria labeled as Prunus munsoniana include hybrids between P. americana and P. angustifolia, as well as individuals of P. hortulana that bloom before the leaves emerge or that sucker freely.

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

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 372. FNA vol. 9, p. 382.
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. 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. 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 P. munsoniana, P. reverchonii
Name authority (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967) Scheele: Linnaea 21: 594. (1848)
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