Prunus armeniaca: Difference between revisions
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#redirect [[apricot]] |
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{{taxobox |
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|image = Apricots.jpg |
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|image_caption = Apricot fruits |
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|status = LC |
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|status_system = IUCN3.1 |
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|regnum = [[Plant]]ae |
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|unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]] |
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|unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]] |
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|unranked_ordo = [[Rosids]] |
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|ordo = [[Rosales]] |
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|familia = [[Rosaceae]] |
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|genus = ''[[Prunus]]'' |
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|subgenus = ''[[Plum|Prunus]]'' |
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|sectio = ''Armeniaca'' |
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|species = '''''P. armeniaca''''' |
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|binomial = ''Prunus armeniaca'' |
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|binomial_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] |
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|synonyms = |
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*''Amygdalus armeniaca'' <small>([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier|Dumort.]]</small> |
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*''Armeniaca ansu'' <small>(Maxim.) Kostina</small> |
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*''Armeniaca vulgaris'' <small>[[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck|Lam.]]</small> |
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*''Prunus ansu'' <small>(Maxim.) Kom.</small> |
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|synonyms_ref = <ref name=GRIN>{{cite web|author=John H. Wiersema |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?29841 |title=USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) |publisher=Ars-grin.gov |date= |accessdate=2012-06-22}}</ref> |
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}} |
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'''''Prunus armeniaca''''' ("Armenian plum"),<ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|date=2006|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford|isbn=9780191018251|edition=2nd ed.|chapter=[http://books.google.com/books?id=pZ-1AQAAQBAJ&pg=PT227&dq=%22armenian+plum%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JIzpUsviNMbmyQHw-YDIAQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22armenian%20plum%22&f=false apricot]}}</ref> the most commonly cultivated [[apricot]] species, also called '''ansu apricot''',<ref name=GRIN/> '''Siberian apricot''',<ref name=GRIN/> '''Tibetan apricot''',<ref name=GRIN/> is a [[species]] of ''[[Prunus]]'', classified with the [[plum]] in the [[subgenus]] ''Prunus''. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation. |
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== Description == |
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[[File:Turkey.Pasa Baglari005.jpg|thumb|left|Apricot tree in central [[Cappadocia]], Turkey]] |
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[[File:Apricot tree flowers.jpg|thumb|left|Apricot flowers in the village of Benhama, [[Kashmir]] ]] |
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''Prunus armeniaca'' is a small tree, {{convert|8|–|12|m|abbr=on}} tall, with a trunk up to {{convert|40|cm|abbr=on}} in diameter and a dense, spreading canopy. The [[leaf|leaves]] are [[leaf shape|ovate]], {{convert|5|–|9|cm|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|4|–|8|cm|abbr=on}} wide, with a rounded base, a pointed tip and a finely serrated margin. The [[flower]]s are {{convert|2|–|4.5|cm|1|abbr=on}} in diameter, with five white to pinkish petals; they are produced singly or in pairs in early spring before the leaves. The [[fruit]] is a [[drupe]] similar to a small [[peach]], {{convert|1.5|–|2.5|cm|1|abbr=on}} diameter (larger in some modern [[cultivar]]s), from yellow to orange, often tinged red on the side most exposed to the sun; its surface can be smooth (botanically described as: [[wikt:glabrous|glabrous]]) or velvety with very short hairs (botanically: [[wikt:pubescent|pubescent]]). The flesh is usually firm and not very juicy. Its taste can range from sweet to tart. The single [[seed]] is enclosed in a hard, stony shell, often called a "stone", with a grainy, smooth texture except for three ridges running down one side.<ref name=foc>Flora of China: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200010636 ''Armeniaca vulgaris'']</ref><ref name=rushforth>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.</ref> |
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[[File:Apricot and cross section.jpg|thumb|left|Apricot and its cross-section]] |
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== Cultivation and uses == |
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=== History of cultivation === |
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[[File:Apricots Drying In Cappadocia.JPG|thumb|left|Apricots drying on the ground in Turkey]] |
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The origin of the species is disputed. It was known in [[Armenia]] during ancient times, and has been cultivated there for so long, it is often thought to have originated there.<ref>CultureGrams 2002 – Page 11 by CultureGrams</ref><ref name=ishs121_36>{{cite web|url=http://www.actahort.org/books/121/121_36.htm |title=VII Symposium on Apricot Culture and Decline |publisher=Actahort.org |date= |accessdate=2012-06-22}}</ref> Its scientific name ''Prunus armeniaca'' (Armenian plum) derives from that assumption. For example, De Poerderlé, writing in the 18th century, asserted, "''Cet arbre tire son nom de l'Arménie, province d'Asie, d'où il est originaire et d'où il fut porté en Europe ...''" ("this tree takes its name from Armenia, province of Asia, where it is native, and whence it was brought to Europe ...").<ref>{{cite book | first=M. le Baron | last=De Poerderlé | title=Manuel de l'Arboriste et du Forestier Belgiques: Seconde Édition: Tome Premier | publisher=Emmanuel Flon | location=à Bruxelles | date=MDCCLXXXVIII (1788) | page=682}} Downloadable Google Books.</ref> An archaeological excavation at [[Garni]] in Armenia found apricot seeds in an [[Eneolithic]]-era site.<ref>B. Arakelyan, "Excavations at Garni, 1949–50" in ''Contributions to the Archaeology of Armenia'', ([[Henry Field (anthropologist)|Henry Field]], ed.), Cambridge, 1968, page 29.</ref> Despite the great number of varieties of apricots that are grown in Armenia today (about 50),<ref name=ishs121_36/> according to [[Nikolai_Vavilov|Vavilov]] its [[center of origin#Vavilov centers|center of origin]] would be the Chinese region, where the domestication of apricot would have taken place. Other sources say that the apricot was first cultivated in India in about 3000 BC.<ref name=rhs>Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening'' 1: 203–205. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.</ref> |
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Its introduction to [[Greece]] is attributed to [[Alexander the Great]];<ref name=rhs/> later, the Roman General [[Lucullus]] (106–57 B.C.) also would have imported some trees – the cherry, white heart cherry, and apricot – from Armenia to Rome{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}}. Subsequent sources were often confused about the origin of the species. [[John Claudius Loudon|Loudon]] (1838) believed it had a wide native range including Armenia, [[Caucasus]], the [[Himalaya]], [[China]], and [[Japan]].<ref>{{cite book | first=J.C. | last=Loudon | title=Arboretum Et Fruticetum Britannicum. Vol. II | publisher=Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans | location=London | year=1838 | pages=681–684 }} The genus is given as ''Armeniaca''. Downloadable at [http://books.google.com/books?id=p2YEAAAAQAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=editions:0N8eqf4BG_RjEKJIwNfh-n#PPP5,M1 Google Books].</ref> |
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Apricots have been cultivated in [[Persia]] since antiquity, and dried ones were an important commodity on Persian trade routes. |
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More recently, [[British colonization of the Americas|English settlers]] brought the apricot to the [[Thirteen Colonies|English colonies]] in the New World. Most of modern American production of apricots comes from the seedlings carried to the west coast by [[New Spain|Spanish]] missionaries. |
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Today, apricot cultivation has spread to all parts of the globe with climates that support it. |
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=== Uses === |
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{{Main|Apricot}} |
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Seeds or kernels of the apricot grown in [[central Asia]] and around the [[Mediterranean region|Mediterranean]] are so sweet, they may be substituted for [[almond]]s.{{Citation needed|date=October 2013}} The Italian liqueur [[amaretto]] and amaretti [[biscotti]] are flavoured with extract of apricot kernels rather than almonds.{{Citation needed|date=October 2013}} [[Vegetable oil|Oil]] pressed from these cultivar kernels, and known as oil of almond, has been used as [[cooking oil]]. Kernels contain between 2.05% and 2.40% [[hydrogen cyanide]], but normal consumption is insufficient to produce serious effects.<ref>''Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa'' - Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk (1962)</ref>{{Clarify|does this book really discuss plants grown in central Asia and around the Mediterranean?|date=January 2011}} |
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== Etymology == |
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The scientific name ''armeniaca'' was first used by [[Gaspard Bauhin]] in his ''Pinax Theatri Botanici'' (page 442), referring to the species as ''Mala armeniaca'' "Armenian apple". It is sometimes stated that this came from [[Pliny the Elder]], but it was not used by Pliny. [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] took up Bauhin's epithet in the first edition of his ''[[Species Plantarum]]'' in 1753.<ref>Linnaeus, C. (1753). ''[[Species Plantarum]]'' 1:474.</ref> |
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The name ''apricot'' is probably derived from a tree mentioned as ''praecocia'' by Pliny. Pliny says "We give the name of apples (''mala'') ... to peaches (''persica'') and pomegranates (''granata'') ..."<ref>[[Naturalis Historia|N.H.]] Book XV Chapter XI, Rackham translation from the [[Loeb Classical Library|Loeb]] edition.</ref> Later in the same section he states "The Asiatic peach ripens at the end of autumn, though an early variety (''praecocia'') ripens in summer – these were discovered within the last thirty years ...". |
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The classical authors connected Greek ''armeniaca'' with Latin ''praecocia'':<ref>{{cite web | first=Philemon | last=Holland | authorlink=Philemon Holland | title=The XV. Booke of the Historie of Nature, Written by Plinius Secundus: Chap. XIII | publisher=Bill Thayer at penelope.uchicago.edu | year=1601 | url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny15.html#b31a | pages=Note 31 by Thayer relates some scholarship of [[Jean Hardouin]] making the connection}} Holland's chapter enumeration varies from Pliny's.</ref> [[Pedanius Dioscorides]]' " ... {{lang|grc|Ἀρμενιακὰ, Ῥωμαιστὶ δὲ βρεκόκκια}}"<ref>De [[Materia Medica]] Book I Chapter 165.</ref> and [[Martial]]'s ''"Armeniaca, et praecocia latine dicuntur"''.<ref>Epigram XIII Line 46.</ref> Putting together the ''Armeniaca'' and the ''Mala'' obtains the well-known epithet, but there is no evidence the ancients did it; ''Armeniaca'' alone meant the apricot. Nonetheless, the 12th century Andalusian agronomist [[Ibn al-'Awwam]] refers to the species in the title of chapter 40 of his ''Kitab al-Filaha'' as والتفاح الارمني, ''"apple from Armenia"'', stating that it is the same as المشمش or البرقوق ("al-mishmish" or "al-barqūq"). |
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Accordingly, the ''[[American Heritage Dictionary]]'' under ''apricot'' derives ''praecocia'' from ''praecoquus'', "cooked or ripened beforehand" [in this case meaning ''early ripening''], becoming Greek ''πραικόκιον'' ''praikókion'' "apricot" and Arabic البرقوق ''al-barqūq'', a term that has been used for a variety of different members of the genus ''Prunus'' (it currently refers primarily to the plum in most [[varieties of Arabic]], but some writers use it as a catchall term for ''Prunus'' fruit). |
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The English name comes from earlier "''abrecock''" in turn from the [[Middle French]] ''abricot'', from [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ''abercoc''.<ref>''Webster's Third New International Dictionary'' under ''Apricot''.</ref> Both the Catalan and the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''albaricoque'' were adaptations of the [[Arabic language|Arabic]], dating from the [[Al-Andalus|Moorish rule of Spain]]. |
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However, in [[Argentina]], [[Chile]], and [[Peru]], the word for "apricot" is ''damasco'', which could indicate that, to the Spanish settlers of Argentina, the fruit was associated with [[Damascus]] in Syria.<ref>{{cite web | title=DICTIONARY > english–latin american spanish | url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/shop_pickandmix/previews/latin-america-spanish-dictionaries-preview.pdf | format=PDF}}</ref> The word ''damasco'' is also the word for "apricot" in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] (both European and Brazilian, though in Portugal the word ''alperce'' is also used). |
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== In culture == |
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[[File:ArmenianStamps-407.jpg|thumb|An Armenian stamp featuring ''Prunus armeniaca''.]] |
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The [[China|Chinese]] associate the apricot with education and medicine. For instance, the classical word [[wikt:杏|杏]][[wikt:壇|壇]] (literally: 'apricot [[altar]]') which means "educational circle", is still widely used in written language. [[Chuang Tzu]], a Chinese philosopher in 4th century BCE, told a story that [[Confucius]] taught his students in a forum surrounded by the wood of apricot trees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ctext.org/zhuangzi/old-fisherman |title=《莊子·漁父》 |publisher=Ctext.org |date= |accessdate=2012-06-22}}</ref> The association with medicine in turn comes from the common use of apricot kernels as a component in [[traditional Chinese medicine]], and from the story of Dong Feng (董奉), a physician during the [[Three Kingdoms period]], who required no payment from his patients except that they plant apricot trees in his orchard on recovering from their illnesses, resulting in a large grove of apricot trees and a steady supply of medicinal ingredients. The term "Expert of the Apricot Grove" (杏林高手) is still used as a poetic reference to physicians. |
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In Armenia, the wood of the apricot tree is used for making wood carvings such as the ''[[duduk]]'', which is a popular wind instrument in Armenia and is also called the apricot pipe. Several hand-made souvenirs are also made from the apricot wood. |
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== See also == |
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* [[Barack (brandy)]] |
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* [[List of apricot diseases]] |
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* [[Pluot]], various apricot-plum hybrids, mostly involving ''P. armeniaca'' |
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* [[Peacotum]], peach-apricot-plum hybrids |
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* ''[[Prunus dasycarpa]]'', "black apricot" or "purple apricot", a ''P. armeniaca'' hybrid |
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== References == |
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{{reflist|30em}} |
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==External links== |
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{{TaxonIds |
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|wikispecies = Prunus armeniaca |
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|ncbi = 36596 |
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|namebank = |
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|eol = 635593 |
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|itis = 24769 |
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}} |
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{{commons}} |
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[[Category:Crops originating from China]] |
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[[Category:Flora of Armenia]] |
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[[Category:Flora of Asia]] |
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[[Category:Flora of Azerbaijan]] |
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[[Category:Flora of China]] |
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[[Category:Flora of Pakistan]] |
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[[Category:Flora of Turkey]] |
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[[Category:Flora of Western Asia]] |
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[[Category:Fruits originating in Asia]] |
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[[Category:Garden plants of Asia]] |
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[[Category:Prunus|armeniaca]] |
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[[Category:Plants described in 1753]] |
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Revision as of 17:13, 20 February 2014
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