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{{stub}}
 
{{stub}}
 
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{{Taxobox
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| color = lightgreen
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| name = Peach
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| image = Peach flowers.jpg
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| image_width = 250px
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| image_caption = Peach flower
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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 = ''Amygdalus''
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| species = '''''P. persica'''''
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| binomial = ''Prunus persica''
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| binomial_authority = ([[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]) [[August Johann Georg Karl Batsch|Batsch]]
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}}
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{{nutritionalvalue | name=Peaches (edible part) | kJ=165 | protein=0.9 g | fat=0.3 g | carbs=9.5 g | fiber=1.5 g | sugars=8.4 g | vitC_mg=6.6 | source_usda=1 | right=1 }}
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The '''Peach''' (''Prunus persica'') is a [[tree]] native to [[China]] that bears a juicy fruit of the same name.
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It is a [[deciduous]] tree growing to 5–10 m tall, belonging to the subfamily [[Prunoideae]] of the family [[Rosaceae]]. It is classified with the [[almond]] in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'' within the genus ''[[Prunus]]'', distinguished from the other subgenera by the corrugated seed shell.
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The [[leaf|leaves]] are [[lanceolate]], 7–15 cm long and 2–3 cm broad. The [[flower]]s are produced in early spring before the leaves; they are solitary or paired, 2.5–3 cm diameter, pink, with five petals. The [[fruit]] is a [[drupe]], with a single large seed encased in hard wood (called the "stone" or "pit"), yellow or whitish flesh, a delicate aroma, and a velvety skin that bruises easily. The seed is red, oval shaped and 1.5-2 cm thick. Peaches, along with [[cherry|cherries]], [[plum]]s and [[apricot]]s, are stone fruits ([[drupe]]s). 
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The scientific name ''persica'' derives from an early European belief that peaches were native to [[Persian Empire|Persia]] (now [[Iran]]). The modern botanical consensus is that they originate in China, and were introduced to Persia and the [[Mediterranean region]] along the [[Silk Road]] in early historical times, probably by about [[2nd millennium BC|2000 BC]] (Huxley et al. 1992).
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Cultivated peaches are divided into "freestone" and "clingstone" [[cultivar]]s, depending on whether the flesh sticks to the stone or not; both kinds can have either white or yellow flesh. Peaches with white flesh typically are very sweet with little [[acid]]ity, while yellow-fleshed peaches typically have an acidic tang coupled with sweetness, though this also varies greatly. Both colours often have some red on their skin. Low-acid white-fleshed peaches are the most popular kinds in China, [[Japan]], and neighbouring [[Asia]]n countries, while [[Europe]]ans and [[North America]]ns have historically favoured the acidic, yellow-fleshed kinds.
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==Nectarines==
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The '''nectarine''' is a [[cultivar group]] of peach that has a smooth, fuzzless skin. Though grocers treat fuzzy peaches and nectarines as different fruits, they belong to the same species. Nectarines have arisen many times from fuzzy peaches, often as [[bud sport]]s. Nectarines can be white, yellow, clingstone, or freestone. Regular peach trees occasionally produce a few nectarines, and vice versa. Their flesh is more easily bruised than fuzzy peaches. The history of the nectarine is unclear; the first recorded mention is from [[1616]] in [[England]], but they had probably been grown much earlier in central Asia.
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==Cultivation==