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peach, pêcher, unknown

Habit Trees, not suckering, 30–100 dm, not thorny. Shrubs or trees; sometimes armed.
Twigs

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.

alternate, simple;

stipules deciduous, free;

venation pinnate.

Inflorescences

usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles.

Pedicels

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.

perianth and androecium perigynous;

epicalyx bractlets absent;

hypanthium cup-shaped, obconic, campanulate, or tubular;

torus absent;

carpel 1, distinct, free, style terminal, distinct;

ovules 2 (1 abortive), apical, collateral (obturator present).

Fruits

drupes;

styles deciduous, not elongate.

Drupes

yellow to orange tinged with red, globose, 40–80 mm, velutinous (glabrous in nectarines);

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, deeply pitted, furrowed.

2n

= 16.

Prunus persica

Rosaceae tribe amygdaleae

Phenology Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug.
Habitat Roadsides, fencerows, abandoned farms, streamsides, canyons
Elevation 0–2300 m (0–7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
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]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
North America; Mexico; Central America; South America; Eurasia; Africa; Australia [Widely introduced]
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.)

Genus 1, species 200+ (44 in the flora).

The base chromosome number for Amygdaleae is x = 8.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 371. FNA vol. 9, p. 352. Author: Luc Brouillet.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae
Sibling taxa
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. angustifolia, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. caroliniana, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, P. fasciculata, P. fremontii, P. geniculata, P. glandulosa, P. gracilis, P. havardii, P. hortulana, P. ilicifolia, P. laurocerasus, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. maritima, P. mexicana, P. minutiflora, P. murrayana, P. myrtifolia, P. nigra, P. padus, P. pensylvanica, P. pumila, P. rivularis, P. serotina, P. speciosa, P. spinosa, P. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
Subordinate taxa
Synonyms Amygdalus persica, Persica vulgaris
Name authority (Linnaeus) Batsch: Beytr. Entw. Gewächsreich, 30. (1801) de Candolle: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 2: 529. (1825)
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