− | The '''Apricot''' (''Prunus armeniaca'', "Armenian plum" in Latin, [[synonymy|syn.]] ''Armeniaca vulgaris'' Lam."Tsiran" ծիրան in Armenian) is a species of ''[[Prunus]]'', classified with the [[plum]] in the [[subgenus]] ''Prunus''. | + | The '''Apricot''' (''Prunus armeniaca'', "Armenian plum" in Latin, [[synonymy|syn.]] ''Armeniaca vulgaris'' Lam."Tsiran" ծիրան in [[Armenia]]n) is a species of ''[[Prunus]]'', classified with the [[plum]] in the [[subgenus]] ''Prunus''. |
| It is a small tree, 8–12 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter and a dense, spreading canopy. The [[leaf|leaves]] are [[leaf shape|ovate]], 5–9 cm long and 4–8 cm wide, with a rounded base, a pointed tip and a finely serrated margin. The [[flower]]s are 2–4.5 cm 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]], 1.5–2.5 cm diameter (larger in some modern [[cultivar]]s), from yellow to orange, often tinged red on the side most exposed to the sun; its surface is usually pubescent. 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/><ref name=rushforth>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.</ref> | | It is a small tree, 8–12 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter and a dense, spreading canopy. The [[leaf|leaves]] are [[leaf shape|ovate]], 5–9 cm long and 4–8 cm wide, with a rounded base, a pointed tip and a finely serrated margin. The [[flower]]s are 2–4.5 cm 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]], 1.5–2.5 cm diameter (larger in some modern [[cultivar]]s), from yellow to orange, often tinged red on the side most exposed to the sun; its surface is usually pubescent. 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/><ref name=rushforth>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.</ref> |