Prunus persica |
Prunus hortulana |
|
---|---|---|
peach, pêcher, unknown |
Hortulan or wild goose plum, Hortulan plum |
|
Habit | Trees, not suckering, 30–100 dm, not thorny. | Trees, rarely suckering, 40–100 dm, moderately thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, glabrous. |
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 6–20 mm, hairy on adaxial surface, usually glandular distally, glands 1–5; blade narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, oblanceolate, or oblong-obovate, (5–)7–11(–13) × (2–)3–5.5 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins singly to doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands inconspicuous, blackish, apex long-acuminate, abaxial surface ± hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial glabrous or with hairs along midribs. |
Inflorescences | usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
2–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles. |
Pedicels | 0–3 mm, glabrous. |
8–20 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. |
blooming before or at leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals erect to reflexed, ovate, 1.5–3 mm, margins glandular-toothed, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely hairy, adaxial densely hairy at bases; petals white, obovate, 4–9 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. |
red to yellowish with white dots, not or only slightly glaucous, globose, 20–30(–40) mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ovoid-ellipsoid, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Prunus persica |
Prunus hortulana |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug. | Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Aug–Sep. |
Habitat | Roadsides, fencerows, abandoned farms, streamsides, canyons | Roadside thickets, flood plains, open woodlands |
Elevation | 0–2300 m (0–7500 ft) | 50–500 m (200–1600 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]
|
AR; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MI; MO; NE; OH; OK; TN; VA; WV
|
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.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 371. | FNA vol. 9, p. 382. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Amygdalus persica, Persica vulgaris | P. hortulana var. mineri |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Batsch: Beytr. Entw. Gewächsreich, 30. (1801) | L. H. Bailey: Gard. & Forest 5: 90. (1892) |
Web links |
|