Prunus persica, (L.) Batsch Prunus dulcis

1. P. persica (L.) Batsch View in CoL , Beytr. Entw. Pragm. Gesch. Nat.- Reiche 30 (1801)

( Persica vulgaris Miller ).

Tree up to 6 m with straight, glabrous, reddish, angular twigs. Leaves 5-15 x 2-4 cm, oblong-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, serrulate, glabrescent. Flowers subsessile, mostly solitary; hypanthium about as wide as long; sepals tomentose; petals 10-20 mm, deep (rarely pale) pink. Fruit 40-80 mm, globose, velutinous (glabrous in var. nucipersica (Borkh.) C. K. Schneider , the nectarine), yellow or pale green, tinged with red; mesocarp succulent, pale green or orange; endocarp deeply sulcate. Extensively cultivated for its fruits (peaches) as a field crop in S. & S.C. Europe, and on a small scc-le in gardens further north; occasionally escaping and locally naturalized. [Al Au BI Bu Co Cr Cz G a Ge G r He Hs Hu It Ju Lu Rm Rs (W, K, E) Sa Si Tu.] (China.)

2. P. dulcis View in CoL (Miller) D. A. Webb, Feddes Repert. 74: 24 (1967)

( Amygdalus communis L. , A. dulcis Miller , P. communis (L.) Arcangeli , non Hudson, P. amygdalus Batsch ).

Shrub or tree up to 8 m, in wild plants spiny and intricately branched, in cultivated plants with straight, spineless branches. Leaves 4-12 x 1-2-3 cm, oblong-lanceolate, crenate-serrate, glabrous. Flowers mostly in pairs; hypanthium broadly campanulate; sepals tomentose at least on the margin; petals c. 20 mm, bright pink in bud, fading to pale pink or almost white. Fruit 35-60 mm, ovoid-oblong, compressed, tomentose, grey-green; mesocarp coriaceous, eventually splitting and separating away from the finely pitted, keeled endocarp. Extensively cultivatedfor its edible seeds (almonds) as a field crop in S. & S.C. Europe, and in gardens for ornament further north; frequently naturalized in the Mediterranean region. [Al Au BI Bu Co Cr Cz Ga Ge G r He Hu It Ju Lu Rm Rs (W, K, E) Sa Si Tu.] (C. & S.W. Asia, N. Africa.)

3. P. webbii View in CoL (Spach) Vierh., Österr. Bot. Zeitschr. 65:21 (1915).

Like wild plants of 2 but branches strongly divaricate; leaves 3-5 x 0-9 cm or less; petals c. 10 mm, deep pink; fruits 20-25 mm, less densely tomentose, scarcely compressed, with endocarp scarcely keeled and only slightly pitted. 5. part o f Balkan peninsula; Kriti; S. Italy. Al Bu Cr G r It Ju.

4. P. tenella Batsch View in CoL , Beytr. Entw. Pragm. Gesch. Nat.-Reiche 29 (1801)

( P. nana (L.) Stokes , non Duroi, Amygdalus nana L. ).

Shrub up to 1-5 m, spreading by suckers, glabrous except for bud-scales and fruit; branches suberect, grey. Leaves up to 5 x 2 cm, but often smaller, lanceolate to oblong-elliptical, serrate. Flowers mostly solitary; hypanthium tubular, about twice as long as wide; petals 10-15 mm, bright pink (rarely white). Fruit 12-20 mm, subglobose, densely villous with yellowish hairs; mesocarp coriaceous; endocarp with a reticulum of shallow furrows. Dry grassland. E. & E.C. Europe, from S. Bulgaria to c. 55° N. in C. Russia; cultivated for ornament elsewhere and occasionally naturalized. Au Bu Cz Hu Ju Rm Rs (C, W, K, E) [Ga].

Subgen. Prunus . Deciduous; leaves convolute in bud. Shoots without terminal bud. Flowers subsessile or shortly pedicellate, solitary or in small, axillary clusters; flower-bud without accompanying leaf-buds. Hypanthium broadly campanulate. Fruit usually glabrous, often pruinose; mesocarp succulent; endocarp smooth or somewhat rugose.