Prunus persica |
Prunus lusitanica |
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peach, pêcher, unknown |
Portugal laurel |
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Habit | Trees, not suckering, 30–100 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 30–80(–200) dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with terminal 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. |
persistent; petiole 14–20 mm, glabrous, eglandular; blade elliptic, oblong-ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, 6–13 × 2.5–7 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins crenate-dentate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous, abaxial eglandular, if glands present, restricted to margins. |
Inflorescences | usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
18–60[–100]-flowered, racemes; central axes 100–280 mm, leafless at bases. |
Pedicels | 0–3 mm, glabrous. |
7–15(–22) 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 after leaf emergence; hypanthium cupulate, 2.5–3.5 mm, glabrous externally; sepals spreading to reflexed, semicircular, 1–1.5 mm, margins entire, ± ciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy; petals white, suborbiculate to obovate, 4–7 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. |
dark purple, ovoid to conic-ovoid, 8–12 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy to leathery; stones ovoid, not flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 32, 64. |
Prunus persica |
Prunus lusitanica |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug. | Flowering May–Jul; fruiting Aug–Nov. |
Habitat | Roadsides, fencerows, abandoned farms, streamsides, canyons | Disturbed sites, thickets, urban forests |
Elevation | 0–2300 m (0–7500 ft) | 0–400 m (0–1300 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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CA; OR; WA; BC; Europe [Introduced in North America] |
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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 371. | FNA vol. 9, p. 363. |
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) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 473. (1753) |
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