Prunus dulcis |
Prunus yedoensis |
|
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almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond |
Yoshino cherry |
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Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. | Trees, not suckering, 40–80(–160) dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with terminal end buds, sparsely 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 10–20 mm, hairy, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2; blade elliptic-ovate to obovate, 5–12 × 2.5–7 cm, base rounded, margins doubly serrate, teeth aristate, glandular, apex acuminate, abaxial surface hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial glabrous. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
2–6-flowered, corymbs; central axes 4–8(–20) mm. |
Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
15–25 mm (subtended by leafy bracts), 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 tubular, 7–8 mm, hairy externally; sepals spreading, ovate-lanceolate, 4–5 mm, margins glandular-toothed, abaxial surface hairy, adaxial sparsely hairy; petals white or pink, broadly elliptic to obovate, 13–15 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery (splitting); stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted. |
black, subglobose, 7–12 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ellipsoid, not flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16 (Japan). |
Prunus dulcis |
Prunus yedoensis |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. | Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting May. |
Habitat | Roadsides, canyons, grasslands | Abandoned plantings, disturbed sites |
Elevation | 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
|
CA; DC; WA; 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.) |
|
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 | ||
Synonyms | Amygdalus dulcis, A. communis, P. amygdalus | |
Name authority | (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967) | Matsumura: Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 15: 100. (1901) |
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