Jepson Herbarium
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University of California, Berkeley
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Vascular Plants of California
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Prunus dulcis

ALMOND


Higher Taxonomy
Family: RosaceaeView DescriptionDichotomous Key
Common Name: ROSE FAMILY
Habit: Annual to tree, glandular or not. Leaf: simple to palmately or pinnately compound, generally alternate; stipules free to fused (0), persistent to deciduous. Inflorescence: cyme, raceme, panicle, cluster, or flowers 1; bractlets on pedicel ("pedicel bractlets") generally 0--3(many), subtended by bract or generally not. Flower: generally bisexual, radial; hypanthium free or fused to ovary, saucer- to funnel-shaped, subtending bractlets ("hypanthium bractlets") 0--5, alternate sepals; sepals generally 5; petals generally 5, free; stamens (0,1)5--many, anther pollen sacs generally 2; pistils (0)1--many, simple or compound, ovary superior to inferior, styles 1--5. Fruit: 1--many per flower, achene (fleshy-coated or not), follicle, drupe, or pome with generally papery core, occasionally drupe-like with 1--5 stones. Seed: generally 1--5 (per fruit, not per flower).
Genera In Family: 110 genera, +- 3000 species: worldwide, especially temperate; many cultivated for ornament, fruit, especially Cotoneaster, Fragaria, Malus, Prunus, Pyracantha, Rosa, Rubus. Note: Number of teeth is per leaf or leaflet, not per side of leaf or leaflet, except in Drymocallis.
eFlora Treatment Author: Daniel Potter & Barbara Ertter, family description, key to genera, treatment of genera by Daniel Potter, except as noted
Scientific Editor: Daniel Potter, Thomas J. Rosatti.
Genus: PrunusView DescriptionDichotomous Key


Habit: Shrub, tree. Leaf: simple, alternate or clustered on short-shoots, entire to serrate, generally glabrous, generally glandular on teeth and at blade-petiole junction, veins pinnate; stipules deciduous. Inflorescence: raceme, umbel-like or subsessile cluster, or fls 1; pedicel bractlets 0. Flower: hypanthium cup- to urn-shaped, deciduous in fruit, bractlets 0; sepals erect to reflexed; stamens generally 10--30, generally in 2+ whorls; pistil 1, ovary superior, chamber 1, ovules 2, style 1, stigma +- spheric or disk-like. Fruit: drupe, generally ovoid to spheric.
Etymology: (Greek: plum, prune) Toxicity: Seeds of many species +- TOXIC from production of hydrocyanic acid. Note: Many cultivated for wood, ornamental, edible fruit; some persisting near human habitations, some possibly naturalized (e.g., Prunus laurocerasus L.).
Unabridged Note: Many cultivated for wood, ornamental, edible fruit; some persisting near human habitation (Prunus armeniaca L., apricot; Prunus avium (L.) L., sweet cherry; Prunus caroliniana (Mill.) Aiton; Prunus cerasus L., sour cherry; Prunus domestica L., plum; Prunus laurocerasus L., laurel cherry; Prunus lusitanica L., Portugal laurel; Prunus mahaleb L.; Prunus munsoniana W. Wight & Hedrick; Prunus speciosa (Koidz.) Nakai; Prunus yedoensis Matsum.).
eFlora Treatment Author: Joseph R. Rohrer
Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb
NATURALIZED
Habit: Tree 5--8 m, not thorny. Leaf: deciduous; petiole (8)10--25 mm; blade 25--100 mm, oblong to lanceolate, crenate-serrate, base obtuse, tip acuminate. Inflorescence: subsessile cluster or not; flowers 1--2; pedicels 1--5 mm. Flower: sepals tomentose, entire; petals 12--25 mm, pink to nearly white. Fruit: 25--40 mm, ovoid-oblong, +- flat, velvety, gray-green; pulp leathery, splitting to reveal stone. Chromosomes: 2n=16.
Ecology: Canyons, roadsides, grassland (as waif); Elevation: < 500 m. Bioregional Distribution: s NCoRI, c SNF, GV, e SnFrB, s SCoRO; Distribution Outside California: probably native to western Asia, northern Africa. Flowering Time: Feb--Mar
Synonyms: Prunus amygdalus Batsch
Jepson eFlora Author: Joseph R. Rohrer
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)

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Citation for this treatment: Joseph R. Rohrer 2012, Prunus dulcis, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=39976, accessed on December 03, 2024.

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on December 03, 2024.

Prunus dulcis
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©2010 Neal Kramer
Prunus dulcis
click for image enlargement
©2009 Neal Kramer
Prunus dulcis
click for image enlargement
©2009 Neal Kramer
Prunus dulcis
click for image enlargement
©2009 Neal Kramer
Prunus dulcis
click for image enlargement
©2009 Neal Kramer

More photos of Prunus dulcis
in CalPhotos



Geographic subdivisions for Prunus dulcis:
s NCoRI, c SNF, GV, e SnFrB, s SCoRO
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map of distribution 1

(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurrence).






 

Data provided by the participants of the  Consortium of California Herbaria.

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View all CCH records
All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window.
Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
Yellow markers indicate records that may provide evidence for eFlora range revision or may have georeferencing or identification issues.
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CCH collections by month Flowering-Fruiting Monthly Counts

Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).