Prunus andersonii

Prunus andersonii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Species:
P. andersonii
Binomial name
Prunus andersonii
Synonyms
  • Amygdalus andersonii (A. Gray) Greene
  • Amygdalus andersonii (A. Gray) W. Wight
  • Emplectocladus andersonii (A. Gray) A. Nelson & P.B. Kenn.

Prunus andersonii is a North American species of shrub in the same genus as the peach, cherry, and almond. Its common names include desert peach and desert almond.

Description

Prunus andersonii is a deciduous shrub or tree up to 3 metres (10 feet) in height, its tangling branches narrowing to spiny-tipped twigs. Serrated, lance-shaped to oval leaves occur in alternate bundles, each leaf measuring up to 3 centimeters (1 in) long. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or cluster of up to five flowers. Each flower has usually five concave pink petals up to 1 cm (3⁄8 in) long, with many whiskerlike stamens at the center. The flowers bloom before or at the same time as the leaves appear.

The fruit is a fuzzy reddish-orange drupe around 1 cm (3⁄8 in) wide. The fruits are fleshy in years with ample moisture and dry in drought years. The seed is a heart-shaped stone. The plant reproduces sexually via germination of the seed and vegetatively by sprouting from its rhizome. One plant may sprout and resprout from its rhizomes to form a very large clone which can spread over several acres.

Taxonomy

It was named after Charles Lewis Anderson by Asa Gray.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to eastern California and western Nevada, where it grows in forests and scrub in desert and mountains.

Ecology

Many animals collect and eat the fruits and cache the seeds.

Uses

The fruit is reportedly edible. Among Native American groups, the Paiute used the plant for making tea and medicinal remedies, and the Cahuilla considered the fruit a delicacy.

References

  1. ↑ Rhodes, L.; Pollard, R.P. & Maxted, N. (2018). "Amygdalus andersonii". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 208. IUCN. e.T50049394A50626781. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T50049394A50626781.en.
  2. ↑ Tropicos, Prunus andersonii A. Gray
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Prunus andersonii". US Forest Service. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
  4. 1 2 "Prunus andersonii in Flora of North America". efloras.org. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
  5. ↑ Gray, Asa (1868). "Characters of New Plants of California and Elsewhere . . ". Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts. 7: 337. Retrieved Mar 7, 2020.
  6. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  7. ↑ Calflora taxon report, University of California, Prunus andersonii A. Gray desert peach
  8. ↑ Turner, Mark; Kuhlmann, Ellen (2014). Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-60469-263-1.
  9. ↑ University of Michigan Ethnobotany