Prunus dulcis |
Prunus spinosa |
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almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond |
blackthorn, blackthorn plum, sloe, sloe cherry |
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Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, suckering, 10–40 dm, thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, hairy. |
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 4–7 mm, hairy, eglandular; blade elliptic to obovate, 1.5–4 × 1–2.2 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins crenulate-serrulate, teeth blunt, often glandular, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surface hairy (especially along midribs and veins), adaxial glabrate. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
0.5–5(–8) mm, usually glabrous, rarely 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 before leaf emergence; hypanthium cupulate, 1.5–2.5 mm, glabrous externally; sepals spreading, oblong, 1.5–2.5 mm, margins glandular-toothed, surfaces glabrous or adaxially hairy at bases; petals white, elliptic, 4–8 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery (splitting); stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted. |
bluish black, globose, 10–15 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones subglobose, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 32. |
Prunus dulcis |
Prunus spinosa |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. | Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Aug–Sep. |
Habitat | Roadsides, canyons, grasslands | Roadsides |
Elevation | 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) | 0–1000 m (0–3300 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
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CT; ID; MA; ME; MI; NY; OR; WA; BC; NS; ON; Eurasia; n Africa [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.) |
As past flora writers (C. L. Hitchcock et al. 1955–1969; E. G. Voss 1972–1996) have noted, the distinctions between Prunus spinosa and P. domestica are not clear. Some researchers consider the hexaploid P. domestica to have been derived from the tetraploid P. spinosa, often in a scenario involving hybridization with P. cerasifera. It should not be surprising that some of the characters used in keys to separate these three taxa (spininess, indument, leaf size, pedicel length, numbers of flowers per bud) are subject to variation within each species and overlap among the species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 372. | FNA vol. 9, p. 376. |
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: 475. (1753) |
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