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| image_width = 240px
 
| image_width = 240px
 
| image_caption = Apricot fruit
 
| image_caption = Apricot fruit
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| regnum = Plantae
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| divisio = Magnoliophyta
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| classis = Magnoliopsida
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| ordo = Rosales
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| familia = Rosaceae
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| genus = Prunus
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| species = armeniaca
 
}}
 
}}
 
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 Armenian) is a species of ''[[Prunus]]'', classified with the [[plum]] in the [[subgenus]] ''Prunus''.
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[[Image:Turkey.Pasa Baglari005.jpg|thumb|left|Apricot tree]]
 
[[Image:Turkey.Pasa Baglari005.jpg|thumb|left|Apricot tree]]
 
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>
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==Species==
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*''[[Freesia alba]]''
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*''[[Freesia laxa]]'' (syn. ''Anomatheca laxa'', ''Lapeirousia laxa'')
      
==Cultivation==
 
==Cultivation==
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==Pests and diseases==
 
==Pests and diseases==
 
Apricots are susceptible to numerous bacterial diseases including bacterial canker and blast, bacterial spot and crown gall. They are susceptible to an even longer list of fungal diseases including brown rot, Alternaria spot and fruit rot, and powdery mildew. Other problems for apricots are nematodes and viral diseases, including graft-transmissible problems.
 
Apricots are susceptible to numerous bacterial diseases including bacterial canker and blast, bacterial spot and crown gall. They are susceptible to an even longer list of fungal diseases including brown rot, Alternaria spot and fruit rot, and powdery mildew. Other problems for apricots are nematodes and viral diseases, including graft-transmissible problems.
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==Uses==
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Fruit, fresh or dried.
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Seeds or kernels of the apricot grown in [[central Asia]] and around the [[Mediterranean region|Mediterranean]] are so sweet that they may be substituted for [[almond]]s. The Italian liqueur [[Amaretto]] and amaretti [[biscotti]] are flavoured with extract of apricot kernels rather than almonds. [[Vegetable oil|Oil]] pressed from these cultivars has been used as [[cooking oil]].
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Due to their high fiber to volume ratio, dried apricots are sometimes used to relieve constipation or induce diarrhea.  Effects can be felt after eating as few as three.
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Research shows that of any food, apricots possess the highest levels and widest variety of carotenoids {{Fact|date=August 2008}}. Carotenoids are antioxidants that help prevent heart disease, reduce "bad cholesterol" levels, and protect against cancer {{Fact|date=August 2008}}.
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==Taxonomy==
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{{Taxbox
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| color = IndianRed
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| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
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| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
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| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
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| ordo = [[Rosales]]
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| familia = [[Rosaceae]]
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| genus = ''[[Prunus]]''
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| subgenus = ''[[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 = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
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}}
      
==References==
 
==References==