Prunus persica |
Prunus mahaleb |
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peach, pêcher, unknown |
Mahaleb cherry, Mahaleb or perfumed or St. Lucie cherry, perfumed cherry, St. Lucie cherry |
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Habit | Trees, not suckering, 30–100 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 30–150 dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with terminal end buds, densely puberulent. |
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 4–20 mm, glabrous or ± puberulent on adaxial surface, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2, discoid; blade broadly ovate, oblong, or suborbiculate, 1.9–4.5 × 1.2–3.4 cm, base usually rounded to truncate, sometimes subcordate, margins crenate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex abruptly acuminate, apicula obtuse, surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes midribs and veins hairy abaxially. |
Inflorescences | usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
4–10-flowered, corymbs; central axes 8–40 mm. |
Pedicels | 0–3 mm, glabrous. |
6–18 mm (subtended by leafy bracts), 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 at leaf emergence; hypanthium conic-campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals reflexed, oblong, 1.3–2 mm, margins entire, surfaces glabrous; petals white, elliptic to obovate, 6–7 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 red to black, ovoid, 6–10 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones ellipsoid to subglobose, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Prunus persica |
Prunus mahaleb |
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Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug. | Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Jun–Jul. |
Habitat | Roadsides, fencerows, abandoned farms, streamsides, canyons | Roadsides, stream banks, limestone bluffs and quarries, lowland thickets and woods, fencerows, chaparral |
Elevation | 0–2300 m (0–7500 ft) | 0–2300 m (0–7500 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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AL; AR; CA; CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; MI; MO; MT; NC; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; TN; UT; VA; WA; WV; BC; ON; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
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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.) |
Prunus mahaleb was introduced to North America as a rootstock for commercial cherries and is now sometimes cultivated for its attractive and fragrant flowers. At one time, the aromatic wood was a favorite for tobacco pipes. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 371. | FNA vol. 9, p. 366. |
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: 474. (1753) |
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