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desert almond, desert peach, wild almond

almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond

Habit Shrubs, suckering, much branched, 10–20(–30) dm, thorny. Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny.
Twigs

with axillary end buds, glabrous or canescent.

with terminal end buds, glabrous.

Leaves

deciduous;

sessile;

blade oblanceolate to linear, 0.5–2 × 0.1–0.2(–0.4) cm, base long-attenuate, margins nearly entire or obscurely and remotely serrulate in distal 1/3, teeth blunt to sharp, sometimes glandular, apex rounded to acute, surfaces puberulent or glabrous or low-papillate (var. punctata).

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.

Inflorescences

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.

Pedicels

0–4 mm, glabrous.

1–5 mm, glabrous.

Flowers

unisexual, plants dioecious, blooming at leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 1.5–3 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals erect-spreading, triangular, 0.7–1 mm, margins entire, surfaces glabrous;

petals white to yellowish, elliptic, obovate, or suborbiculate, 1.4–2.5(–4) mm;

ovaries hairy.

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.

Drupes

gray to red-brown, ovoid, ± compressed, 7–15 mm, densely puberulent;

hypanthium tardily deciduous;

mesocarps leathery to dry;

stones ovoid, ± flattened.

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

mesocarps leathery (splitting);

stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted.

2n

= 16.

Prunus fasciculata

Prunus dulcis

Phenology Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep.
Habitat Roadsides, canyons, grasslands
Elevation 20–500 m (100–1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; UT; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

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.)

Key
1. Leaf blades sparsely to densely puberulent, not papillate.
var. fasciculata
1. Leaf blades glabrous, sometimes papillate.
var. punctata
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 370. FNA vol. 9, p. 372.
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. dulcis, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
P. fasciculata var. fasciculata, P. fasciculata var. punctata
Synonyms Emplectocladus fasciculatus Amygdalus dulcis, A. communis, P. amygdalus
Name authority (Torrey) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 70. (1874) (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967)
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