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Prunus
Also called Cherry, Flowering Cherry, Planted Cherry, Almond, Cherry, Plum, Cherries, Chokecherry, Cherry Trees
Prunus is a genus of about 340 trees and shrubs in the rose family, including plums, cherries, almonds, peaches and apricots, grown for fruit and spring blossom. Most garden types need full sun and well-drained soil, and the leaves, pits and seeds of many species contain cyanogenic compounds.
Prunus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs from the rose family (Rosaceae) that produce stone fruits, or drupes. As of March 2024, the genus has about 340 accepted species, including almonds, apricots, cherries, peaches (and nectarines), and plums. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, being native to the temperate regions of North America, the neotropics of South America, and temperate and tropical regions of Eurasia and Africa.
Many Prunus species are widely cultivated for their sweet, fleshy fruit, as well as for decorative purposes due to the colorful seasonal blossom of their flowers. 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.
The genus Prunus includes the almond, the nectarine and peach, several species of apricots, cherries, and plums, all of which have cultivars developed for commercial fruit and nut production. The almond is not a true nut; the edible part is the seed. Other species are occasionally cultivated or used for their seed and fruit.
A number of species, hybrids, and cultivars are grown as ornamental plants, usually for their profusion of flowers, sometimes for ornamental foliage and shape, and occasionally for their bark.
Many species are cyanogenic; that is, they contain compounds called cyanogenic glucosides, notably amygdalin, which, on hydrolysis, yield hydrogen cyanide. Although the fruits of some may be edible by humans and livestock (in addition to the ubiquitous fructivory of birds), seeds, leaves and other parts may be toxic, some highly so. The plants contain no more than trace amounts of hydrogen cyanide, but on decomposition after crushing and exposure to air or on digestion, poisonous amounts may be generated. The trace amounts may give a characteristic taste ("bitter almond") with increasing bitterness in larger quantities, less tolerable to people than to birds, which habitually feed on specific fruits.
The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, being native to the temperate regions of North America, the neotropics of South America, and temperate and tropical regions of Eurasia and Africa.
The fleshy mesocarp surrounding the endocarp is edible while the endocarp itself forms a hard shell called the pyrena ("stone" or "pit"). This encloses the seed (or "kernel"), which is edible in some species (such as almonds) but poisonous in many others (such as apricot kernels). Besides being eaten fresh, most Prunus fruit are also commonly used to make processed foods and beverages such as canned and dried fruit, fruit juices (e.g. cherry and prune juice), jam, gelatine desserts, and roasted seeds.
Prunus adenopoda · Red stinkwood · Prunus aitchisonii · Alabama cherry · Prunus alaica · Allegheny plum · American plum · Prunus amplifolia · Almond · Desert peach · Chickasaw plum · Prunus annularis
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Prunus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
