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almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond

Japanese flowering or oriental cherry

Habit Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. Trees, not suckering, 60–100(–250) 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.

deciduous;

petiole 7–45 mm, glabrous, glandular, glands 2–4, discoid;

blade elliptic to obovate, 5–17 × 3–8 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins singly to doubly serrate, teeth aristate, glandular, apex caudate, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.

(2–)3–5(–6)-flowered, corymbs;

central axes 5–25(–60) mm.

Pedicels

1–5 mm, glabrous.

10–40 mm (subtended by leafy bracts), glabrous or sparsely 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 at leaf emergence;

hypanthium tubular, 4–8 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals spreading to reflexed, oblong-ovate to lanceolate, 3–8 mm, margins entire or toothed, eglandular, surfaces glabrous;

petals white or pink, suborbiculate to oblong-obovate, 8–18 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

Drupes

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

mesocarps leathery (splitting);

stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted.

black, globose, 10–13 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ellipsoid, slightly flattened.

2n

= 16.

= 16 (Japan).

Prunus dulcis

Prunus speciosa

Phenology Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Jun–Jul.
Habitat Roadsides, canyons, grasslands Disturbed sites, abandoned plantings
Elevation 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) 0–200 m (0–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; MA; NC; e Asia (Japan) [Introduced in North America]
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.)

The name Prunus serrulata has been widely applied to P. speciosa by North American botanists and horticulturalists (for example, P. G. Russell 1934; A. J. Rehder 1940); some Japanese cherry experts now circumscribe P. serrulata more narrowly so that it includes only the white-petaled, double-flowered cultivars closely resembling the nomenclatural type. The single-flowered plants that are found escaping rarely and perhaps naturalizing in the flora area have been called P. lannesiana (Carrière) E. H. Wilson forma albida (Makino) E. H. Wilson or P. speciosa. Based on principal components analysis of 35 morphological characters from 468 individuals of the P. serrulata complex and related taxa, K. S. Chang et al. (2007) argued that forma albida is distinctive and separated from other taxa of the P. serrulata complex. H. Ohba (2001) recognized it at species rank as Cerasus speciosa (Koidzumi) H. Ohba. The classification and nomenclature of Japanese flowering cherries are complex, convoluted, and subject to varying interpretations, and no attempt is made to resolve them here. Centuries of selection and hybridization have blurred species distinctions, and it may be best to do as horticulturalists have and forsake botanical species names in favor of traditional and cultivar names. Whatever the name, these Japanese flowering cherries are widely grown as ornamentals where winters are not too cold nor summers too hot; they escape only rarely and have been found naturalizing only near planted specimens.

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

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 372. FNA vol. 9, p. 369.
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. rivularis, P. serotina, P. spinosa, P. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
Synonyms Amygdalus dulcis, A. communis, P. amygdalus P. jamasakura var. speciosa, P. serrulata var. lannesiana
Name authority (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967) (Koidzumi) Nakai: Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 29: 139. (1915)
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