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Peach
Peach flower, fruit, seed and leaves as illustrated by Otto Wilhelm Thomé (1885)
Photograph showing a peach in cross section with yellow flesh and a single large reddish brown pit
'Autumn Red' peach, freestone cultivar in cross section
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Subgenus: Prunus subg. Amygdalus
Species:
P. persica
Binomial name
Prunus persica
(L.) Batsch, 1801
Synonyms[1]
List
    • Amygdalus communis var. persica (L.) Risso (1826)
    • Amygdalus ferganensis (Kostina & Rjabov) T.T.Yu & L.T.Lu (1986)
    • Amygdalus laevis (DC.) Lej. (1825)
    • Amygdalus nucipersica (L.) Rchb. (1832)
    • Amygdalus persica L. (1753)
    • Persica domestica Risso (1826)
    • Persica ferganensis (Kostina & Rjabov) Kovalev & Kostina (1935)
    • Persica laevis DC. (1805)
    • Persica levis Risso (1826)
    • Persica mammillata Poit. & Turpin (1830)
    • Persica nana Mill. (1768)
    • Persica nucipersica (L.) Borkh. (1790)
    • Persica pendula Siebold (1863)
    • Persica platycarpa Decne. (1875)
    • Persica vulgaris Mill. (1768)
    • Prunus daemonifuga H.Lév. & Vaniot (1908)

Description

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The peach is a deciduous tree or tree like shrub that may grow 3 to 10 meters (10 to 33 ft) tall.[2][3] They never produce suckers or have thorns.[2] Unlike with apples the size of peach trees is not generally controlled by dwarfing rootstocks in commercial orchards.[4] The bark on the trunk and branches is dark gray with horizontal lenticels. It becomes more scaly and rough as the tree becomes older.[5]

Twigs on peach trees have a smooth, hairless surface, the bark is usually red, but may be green on the sides not exposed to the sun.[3] As they become older branchlets weather to gray in color.[6] Twigs have true terminal buds at their ends.[2]

Peach leaves are oblong, having sides nearly parallel, to lanceolate, like the head of a spear, in shape.[2] The widest portion of the leaf is midway or further towards the leaf tip.[3] Each leaf folds along the centeral rib of the leaf and is often also curved, usually 7–15 centimeters (3–6 in) long and 2–4.5 cm (1–2 in) wide, though occasionally they may be shorter.[2] The surface of the leaves is smooth and hairless, but the leaf stem sometimes has glands.[3] The edges of the leaves have serrated edges with blunt teeth.[2] The teeth have a reddish-brown gland at the tip.[7]

Flowering

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Flowers on peach trees are either solitary or in groups of two and ususually bloom before the leaves begin to grow.[3] They may range in shades from white to red,[6] but having pink or red flowers 2–3.5 cm in width is typical of cultivars selected for their fruit.[3]

Taxonomy

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The peach tree as given the name Amygdalus persica by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in his book Systema Naturae. The accepted species name of Prunus persica published by August Batsch in 1801.[1] Though this was far from settled until the 20th century with many different placements of the peach and even divisions of nectarines and flat peaches into different species. The botanist Ulysses Prentiss Hedrick argued persuasively in 1917 that these differences are merely simple mutations and not species or even varieties beginning consensus towards the modern classification.[8] More than 200 scientific names have been published that are considered synonyms of Prunus persica by Plants of the World Online (POWO).[1] Though sources agree on its classification as Prunus persica, there is division on the correct author citation for the name. Most sources, such as POWO,[1] World Flora Online,[7] and the Flora of North America[2] give August Batsch credit. However, a few sources such as World Plants maintained by the botanist Michael Hassler instead credit Jonathan Stokes with priority dated to 1812.[9]

Prunus persica is classified in Prunus with other stone fruits within the rose family, Rosaceae.[7] The greatest genetic diversity in peaches is found in China and where it is generally agreed to have been domesticated.[4]

Names

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The genus name Prunus is from Latin for plum. The specific name persica was given by Linnaeus because European botanists of the 1700s and 1800s continued to believe the Romans were correct about peaches originating in Persia.[8]

The modern English word has Latin origins.[10] In ancient Rome the peach was called persicum malum or simply persicum meaning "Persian apple".[11] This became the Late Latin pessica and in turn the medieval pesca. In Old French it was variously the peche, pesche, or peske. The first usage in England was as the surname Pecche in about 1184–1185.[10] The French word was directly adopted into English to mean the fruit and spelled either pechis or peches around the year 1400. In 1605 the first known instance of the modern spelling of peach was published.[12] Peach trees are also, less frequently, called common peaches.[5]

The various cultivars of peach with smooth skinned fruits are called nectarines. This word was coined by English speakers, originally as an adjective meaning nectar like, "nectar" and the suffix "-ine" with the first use in print in 1611.[13][14]

Distribution

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In Europe the peach trees are partly naturalized. In western Europe they are found in Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In central Europe they are reported as escaped from cultivation in Germany, Hungary, and Switzerland and in Corsica, Sardinia, Italy, Cyprus, and Greece in the south.[1] In the southeast they grow as introduced plants in Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria.[9][1] To the east they are found in parts of European Russia, Ukraine, Crimea, and the Caucasus.[1]

In North America, in addition to cultivation, peach saplings are often found growing anywhere pits have been discarded. Most of these feral trees are short lived, but some have established naturalized populations.[2] Such escapes are reported in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia.[15] Trees outside of cultivation have been found in all of the United States east of the Mississippi excluding Minnesota, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In the northwest they are found in Oregon and Idaho.[16] In the Southwestern United States they are to some extent naturalized from California to Texas, with the exception of in Nevada. Similar occurrences are also found in the northwest of Mexico.[1]

Cultivation

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Ornamentals

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Peach trees are also grown for ornamental value in gardens, but trees specifically selected for this purpose have small, inedible fruits.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Prunus persica (L.) Batsch". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rohrer, Joseph R. (5 November 2020). "Prunus persica". Flora of North America. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Krüssmann, Gerd (1986) [1978]. Daniels, Gilbert S. (ed.). Manual of Cultivated Broad-leaved Trees & Shrubs. Vol. III, Pru–Z. Translated by Epp, Michael E. (English ed.). London: B. T. Batsford. pp. 42–43. ISBN 0-7134-5408-3. OCLC 12600067. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b Byrne, David H.; Raseira, Maria Bassols; Bassi, Daniele; Piagnani, Maria Claudia; Gasic, Ksenija; Reighard, Gregory L.; Moreno, María Angeles; Pérez, Salvador (2009). "Chapter 14: Peach". In Badenes, Maria Luisa; Byrne, David H. (eds.). Fruit Breeding (First ed.). New York: Springer. pp. 505–569. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0763-9_14. ISBN 978-1-4419-0762-2. LCCN 2011943557. OCLC 401157579. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Prunus persica (Common Peach, Peach)". North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. North Carolina State University. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Jr., Steve L.; Reeves, Linda Mary; Clifford, Arnold (2013). Flora of the Four Corners Region: Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. p. 915. ISBN 978-1-930723-84-9. ISSN 0161-1542. LCCN 2012949654. OCLC 859541992. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "Prunus persica (L.) Batsch". World Flora Online. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  8. ^ a b Faust, Miklos; Timon, Béla (1995). "Chapter 10. Origin and Dissemination of Peach". In Janick, Jules (ed.). Horticultural Reviews. Vol. 17 (First ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 331–379. doi:10.1002/9780470650585.ch10. ISBN 9780471573357. OCLC 827631597.
  9. ^ a b Hassler, Michael (19 September 2024). "Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 24.9". World Plants. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  10. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995) [1988]. The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology (First Revised ed.). New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 549. ISBN 978-0-06-270084-1. OCLC 30399281. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  11. ^ Durkin, Philip (2009). The Oxford Guide to Etymology (First ed.). Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-19-923651-0. OCLC 301948893. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Peach". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/8560354383. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  13. ^ "Nectarine, N. (1)". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/1154557334. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  14. ^ "Nectarine, Adj. & N. (2)". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/5327466125. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  15. ^ "Prunus persica (Linnaeus) Batsch". Database of Canadian Vascular Plants (VASCAN). Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  16. ^ Prunus persica, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Profile, 5 October 2024
  17. ^ Davis, Brian (1997). The gardener's essential plant guide : over 4,000 varieties of garden plants including trees, shrubs, and vines. San Diego, California: Laurel Glen Pub. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-57145-601-4. Retrieved 4 October 2024.