Apricot
Prunus armeniaca

Family: Rosaceae

What it is like

A medium sized deciduous tree. It grows 10 m tall. It is a broad spreading shape. The bark is dark red-brown and smooth and shiny. The leaves have stalks. The leaves are broadly oval. They are 10 cm long by 6 cm wide. They are rounded at the base and taper to the tip. They have shallow round teeth along the edge. The leaves are glossy and dark green. The flowers are 2.5 cm across and pale pink or white. They are almost without stalks and have 5 petals. They occur singly on old shoots. The fruit is fleshy and rounded. It is yellow and can be flushed with red. There is a hard covering over the seed. This stone is smooth. The seeds are oval. The flesh is edible. The seeds are edible.

There are about 200 Prunus species.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It is native to C. Asia and N. China. It grows in cool areas with hot dry summers. They do best on a free draining soil. In Nepal plants grow between 2500-3500 m altitude. It does well in areas with 100 cm rainfall, cool winters with 300-900 chilling hours below 7°C and frost free spring. A pH of 6-6.8 is suitable. It needs good sunlight. It suits hardiness zones 5-10.

Countries/locations it is found in

Afghanistan, Africa, Andorra, Arabia, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Balkans, Brazil, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, Caucasus, Central Asia, Chile, China (country/location of origin), Colombia, East Africa, Ecuador, Egypt, Europe, France, Georgia, Greece, Himalayas, Hungary, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan, Kurdistan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, North Africa, North America, Northeastern India, NW India, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, SE Asia, Serbia, Siberia (country/location of origin), South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkestan, Turkey, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Tasmania, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The ripe fruit are eaten raw. The kernels can be eaten. If sweet they are eaten fresh and if bitter they are roasted. They should be used with caution. The seed oil is used for cooking. The fruit are also used for juice and are dried and eaten dry. They are also used for jam, and in pastries, pies, cakes, and picked. The dried flowers are used for tea.

It is a cultivated fruit tree. It is sold in local and global markets.

Edible parts

Fruit, kernels, seeds - oil, nuts -caution, flowers - tea

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. The flowers are self fertile. Plants require some winter chilling.

Trees fruit is 3-4 years. Fruit are picked by hand.

Its other names

Local names

Aberikos, Abrico, Abricotier, Abrikos, Albericoque, Albicocca, Aprikhot, Aprikosenbaum, Apurikotto, Asher, Chabacano, Chinese almond, Chudri, Chuli, Damasco, Epulokoti, Haari, Hari, Hung ngan, Jarot, Kham-bu, Khubani, Khumani, Khurpani, Kushmiaru, Malhei, Saari, Siberian apricot, Swari, Tsiraneni, Xing, Yexing, Zangali sharay, Zardalu, Zerdali, Zurdalu

Synonyms

Amygdalus armeniaca (L.) Dumort.; Armeniaca vulgaris Lam.; Prunus armeniaca var. vulgaris Zabel;