Prunus persica |
Prunus spinosa |
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peach, pêcher, unknown |
blackthorn, blackthorn plum, sloe, sloe cherry |
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Habit | Trees, not suckering, 30–100 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, suckering, 10–40 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 4–7 mm, hairy, eglandular; blade elliptic to obovate, 1.5–4 × 1–2.2 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins crenulate-serrulate, teeth blunt, often glandular, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surface hairy (especially along midribs and veins), adaxial glabrate. |
Inflorescences | usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
Pedicels | 0–3 mm, glabrous. |
0.5–5(–8) mm, usually glabrous, rarely hairy. |
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 leaf emergence; hypanthium cupulate, 1.5–2.5 mm, glabrous externally; sepals spreading, oblong, 1.5–2.5 mm, margins glandular-toothed, surfaces glabrous or adaxially hairy at bases; petals white, elliptic, 4–8 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. |
bluish black, globose, 10–15 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones subglobose, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 32. |
Prunus persica |
Prunus spinosa |
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Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug. | Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Aug–Sep. |
Habitat | Roadsides, fencerows, abandoned farms, streamsides, canyons | Roadsides |
Elevation | 0–2300 m (0–7500 ft) | 0–1000 m (0–3300 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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CT; ID; MA; ME; MI; NY; OR; WA; BC; NS; ON; Eurasia; n Africa [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.) |
As past flora writers (C. L. Hitchcock et al. 1955–1969; E. G. Voss 1972–1996) have noted, the distinctions between Prunus spinosa and P. domestica are not clear. Some researchers consider the hexaploid P. domestica to have been derived from the tetraploid P. spinosa, often in a scenario involving hybridization with P. cerasifera. It should not be surprising that some of the characters used in keys to separate these three taxa (spininess, indument, leaf size, pedicel length, numbers of flowers per bud) are subject to variation within each species and overlap among the species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 371. | FNA vol. 9, p. 376. |
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: 475. (1753) |
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