Prunus
Sign in to savethumb|Prunus sp. Prunus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs from the family Rosaceae. The genus includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds (collectively stonefruit). The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, being native to the temperate regions of North America, the neotropics of South America, and temperate and tropical regions of Eurasia and Africa, There are about 340 accepted species .
AI overview
Prunus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs that includes familiar fruits like plums, cherries, peaches, apricots, and almonds, as well as the almond tree. The genus is found naturally across temperate and tropical regions worldwide, with about 340 species that provide important food sources and ornamental value to humans.
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Taxonomy · GBIF
GENUS
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassMagnoliopsida
- OrderRosales
- FamilyRosaceae
via GBIF · CC0
Article
24 sectionsContents
- Description
- Taxonomy
- Classification
- Evolutionary history
- Linnean classification
- Traditional classification
- Phylogenetic classification
- Species
- Afro-Eurasian species
- Species found in the Americas
- Etymology
- Pests and diseases
- Cultivation
- Ornamental ''Prunus''
- Toxicity
- Benefits to human health
- Cherries
- Almonds
- Plums
- Apricots
- Peaches and nectarines
- Notes
- References
- External links
thumb|Prunus sp. Prunus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs from the family Rosaceae. The genus includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds (collectively stonefruit). The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, being native to the temperate regions of North America, the neotropics of South America, and temperate and tropical regions of Eurasia and Africa, There are about 340 accepted species .
Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for their sweet, fleshy fruit and for decorative purposes of their flowers. Prunus fruit are drupes, or stone fruits. The fleshy mesocarp surrounding the endocarp is edible while the endocarp itself forms a hard, inedible shell called the pyrena ("stone" or "pit"). This shell encloses the seed (or "kernel"), which is edible in some species (such as sweet almonds), but poisonous in many others (such as apricot kernels). Besides being eaten off the hand, most Prunus fruit are also commonly used in processing, such as jam production, canning, drying, and the seeds for roasting.