Prunus persica |
Prunus geniculata |
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peach, pêcher, unknown |
scrub plum |
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Habit | Trees, not suckering, 30–100 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, sometimes suckering, much branched, 5–10(–20) dm, thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, hairy. |
Leaves | deciduous; petiole 5–10(–15) mm, not winged, glabrous, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–4, discoid; blade oblong to lanceolate, folded along midribs, often falcate, (5–)7–15 × 2–4.5 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins crenulate-serrulate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous. |
deciduous; petiole 3–6 mm, hairy on adaxial surface, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2, discoid; blade elliptic, 0.8–2.5 × 0.4–1.3 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins crenulate-serrulate in distal 1/2, nearly entire on smaller leaves, teeth blunt, glandular, apex obtuse to rounded, mucronate, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
solitary flowers. |
Pedicels | 0–3 mm, glabrous. |
0–3 mm, glabrous. |
Flowers | blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium cupulate, 4–5 mm, glabrous externally; sepals spreading, oblong-ovate, 3.5–5 mm, margins entire, ciliate, abaxial surface hairy (especially along margins), adaxial glabrous; petals dark pink, obovate to suborbiculate, 10–17 mm; ovaries hairy. |
usually bisexual with some staminate flowers on same plant, blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals erect to spreading, ovate, 1–1.5 mm, margins entire, ciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy; petals white, elliptic, 2 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | yellow to orange tinged with red, globose, 40–80 mm, velutinous (glabrous in nectarines); mesocarps fleshy; stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, deeply pitted, furrowed. |
reddish, ovoid, 12–25 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ovoid, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
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Prunus persica |
Prunus geniculata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug. | Flowering Jan–Feb; fruiting Mar–May. |
Habitat | Roadsides, fencerows, abandoned farms, streamsides, canyons | Longleaf pine-turkey oak sandhills, pine-evergreen oak scrub |
Elevation | 0–2300 m (0–7500 ft) | 10–50 m (0–200 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; UT; VA; WI; WV; NS; ON; e Asia [Introduced in North America]
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FL |
Discussion | Peaches are cultivated throughout much of North America. Commercial production is diffuse, occurring in over half of the lower 48 states as well as in southern British Columbia and southern Ontario. Freestone peaches for fresh eating come largely from California, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina; most clingstones are used for canning and are grown in California. Nectarines are a variety with hairless skin. The fruits are popular on picnics, and peach saplings are commonly encountered anywhere pits are discarded. Escapes are usually short-lived; some escapes form naturalized populations. Double-flowered cultivars are used ornamentally. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Prunus geniculata is known only from the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida. Much of its original habitat has been lost to residential, recreational, and agricultural development; it received federal listing as an endangered species in 1987. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 371. | FNA vol. 9, p. 378. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Amygdalus persica, Persica vulgaris | |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Batsch: Beytr. Entw. Gewächsreich, 30. (1801) | R. M. Harper: Torreya 11: 67. (1911) |
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