Prunus L., Sp. Pl. 1: 473. 1753; Parker, For. Fl. Punj. ed. 1: 202. 1918 (Reprint 1973); Fl. China @ eFloras.org 9: 401; Fl. North Amer. @ eFloras.org

Trees or shrubs, deciduous, mostly unarmed. Axillary winter buds solitary, ovoid; terminal winter buds absent. Bark commonly with conspicuous horizontal lenticels, relatively smooth or breaking into smooth platelets. Leaves simple, alternate, convolute when young; petiolate or sessile, petiole apex or base of leaf blade margin often 2-glandular; leaf blade variously shaped, margin flat, entire or toothed, teeth glandular or eglandular. Stipules caducous, linear to lanceolate, margin toothed to lobed, usually glandular. Inflorescence terminal on short shoots or from axils of previous year’s leaves, 1- to several-flowered racemes, corymbs, umbellate fascicles, 2-flowered fascicles or solitary; bracteoles present; bracts caducous; pedicels usually present. Flowers white or pink, actinomorphic, mostly bisexual (sometimes unisexual, then plants dioecious), perigynous, blooming before or at leaf emergence, up to 4 cm across. Hypanthium cupular, urceolate, obconic or campanulate, externally glabrous or hairy. Sepals 5, erect or reflexed, imbricate, usually triangular, semicircular, ovate or oblong. Petals 5, usually white, pink to dark pink, inserted on the rim of hypanthium, imbricate, usually elliptic to obovate, spreading. Stamens (10-)20-30, in 2 whorls, filaments free, filiform or somewhat dilated at base, unequal, usually shorter than or equal to petals, rarely longer. Carpels 1, inserted at the bottom of hypanthium, superior, 1-locular, glabrous or sometimes villous, ovules 2, collateral, pendulous; style terminal, elongated; stigma peltate, capitate or truncate. Fruit a 1-seeded drupe, usually with a longitudinal groove, mesocarp fleshy or juicy, not splitting when ripe, the endocarp hard, smooth or rugged.

88 species

Prunus domestica L., Sp. Pl. 1: 475. 1753; Fl. China @ eFloras.org 9: 402; Prunus communis Huds., Fl. Angl. 212. 1798; P. domestica var. damascena Ser., Prodr. 2: 533. 1825; P. domestica subsp. oeconomica (Borkh.) Schneid., Illustr. Handb. Laubholzk. 1: 631-632, f. 347. 1906.

Trees, moderate-sized, deciduous. Branches reddish brown, unarmed, glabrous; branchlets (short shoots) pale red to greyish green, sparsely pubescent. Winter buds reddish brown, usually glabrous. Leaves alternate; petiole 1-2 cm long, pubescent; leaf blade dark green, elliptic to obovate, 4-10 cm x 2.5-5 cm, abaxially pubescent, adaxially glabrous or sparsely pubescent on veins, base cuneate or broadly cuneate and with a pair of glands, margin crenate, apex acute, secondary veins 5-7 on either side of midvein. Flowering before the appearance of foliage. Flowers solitary or to 3 in a fascicle at the apex of short branchlets, 1-1.8 cm in diameter, actinomorphic, bisexual, perigynous, white in colour; pedicels 0.8-1.2 cm, glabrous. Hypanthium campanulate, ca. 3 mm x 4 mm, pubescent outside. Sepals 5, ca. 3.5 mm long, valvate, ovate, margin dentate, apex acute, reddish purplish. Petals 5, white, inserted on the rim of hypanthium, obovate or suborbiculate, base cuneate, apex rounded to obtuse. Stamens 20-30, in 2 whorls, inserted on rim of hypanthium, filaments unequal. Carpel 1, ca. 2 mm long, ovary superior, villous, 1-locular, ovules 2, collateral, pendulous, hairy; stigma capitate. Drupe red, purple, green, yellow, usually globose to oblong, rarely subglobose, ca. 3 cm in diameter, often glaucous, usually with a longitudinal groove, mesocarp juicy and pulpy, endocarp stony, broadly ellipsoid, pitted.

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