Prunus
Genus of flowering trees and shrubs producing stone fruits.
Prunus is a genus within the rose family (Rosaceae) made up of flowering trees and shrubs that bear stone fruits, also called drupes. As of March 2024, roughly 340 species are recognized, including almonds, apricots, cherries, peaches (along with nectarines), and plums. These plants are found across the globe, naturally occurring in North America’s temperate zones, the neotropics of South America, and both temperate and tropical parts of Eurasia and Africa. Many Prunus species are grown on a large scale for their sweet, fleshy fruit, and also for ornamental use, thanks to their vividly colored seasonal blossoms.
Quick Facts
- Taxon
- Prunus
- Type Species
- P. domestica
- Type Species Authority
- L.
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The genus Prunus was first used by Carl Linnaeus in Hortus Cliffortianus of 1737, which went on to become Species Plantarum. In the 10th edition of Systema Naturae (1758), Linnaeus actually used four genera to include the species of modern Prunus—Amygdalus, Cerasus, Prunus, and Padus—rather than simplifying to just two. Since then, the various genera have become subgenera and sections, as all the species are more closely related. Liberty Hyde Bailey noted that 'the numerous forms grade into each other so imperceptibly and inextricably that the genus cannot be readily broken up into species.'
Reader's Guide
The oldest fossils confirmed to belong to Prunus date to the Eocene, found across the Northern Hemisphere. The earliest known fossil specimens are wood, drupe, seed, and a leaf from the middle Eocene of the Princeton Chert of British Columbia, Canada. Using known age as calibration data, Prunus and its sister clade Maloideae (apple subfamily) have been suggested to have diverged 44.3 million years ago, within the Lutetian, or older middle Eocene. The genus has been traditionally classified as a subfamily of Rosaceae, the Amygdaloideae, but was sometimes placed in its own family, the Prunaceae. More recently, Prunus is thought to have evolved from within a much larger clade now called subfamily Amygdaloideae. Historical treatments break the genus into several different genera, but this segregation is not currently widely recognised other than at the subgeneric rank. The modern taxon includes three subgenera based on phylogenetic study: Padus, Cerasus, and Prunus. Many species are cyanogenic, making certain parts of the plant toxic. The fleshy outer portion of the fruit can be eaten fresh, while the pit is edible in some species but poisonous in many others. Most Prunus fruit are also made into processed foods and beverages such as canned and dried fruit, juices, jam, gelatine desserts, and roasted seeds.
Did You Know?
- The genus Prunus has about 340 accepted species as of March 2024.
- The oldest confirmed Prunus fossils date to the Eocene, found across the Northern Hemisphere.
- Carl Linnaeus first used Prunus as a genus name in Hortus Cliffortianus of 1737.
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