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Wild almond

Prunus scoparia

Wild almond
Photo: Ari Khorshid, CC BY-SA 4.0

Prunus scoparia is a drought-tolerant wild almond shrub from the Zagros forests of Iran, also found in Turkey, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. It is grown mainly as a rootstock for domestic almonds, and its key to growing is full sun and very well-drained soil.

Family
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out between waterings.
Soil
Free-draining, sandy or gritty soil; tolerates poor and alkaline ground.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; protect young plants from severe frost, roughly below -15 °C.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Iran to Turkmenistan
Climate
temperate

About

Prunus scoparia is a wild almond primarily found in the Zagros forests of Iran but also distributed across Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. It is a xerophytic shrub and it has been used as a grafting stock for domesticated almonds to provide drought resistance.

Its seeds are consumed by rural Iranians as a cheap source of high-quality protein. Its leaves are the primary food of the larvae of Parornix turcmeniella moths. In recent scholarship, it is sometimes referenced as Persian gum after the model of gum arabic, although this name is also used for the commercially unimportant P. lycioides and for the resin of the unrelated Astragalus sarcocolla.

Other Prunus plants

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 scoparia 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.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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