| Apricot | |
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| File:Apricots.jpg | |
| Apricots | |
Scientific classification 
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| Missing taxonomy template (fix): | Prunus sect. Tiliifolia |
The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation. Genetic studies indicate Central Asia is the centre of origin.[1][2] It is extensively cultivated in many countries and has escaped into the wild in many places.[3][4][5] An apricot is a drupe fruit. It is closely related to the plum. The ones from the wild populations in southern Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan) gave rise to the cultivated apricot in southern Central Asia and Northern Asia.
Apricots have been cultivated in Persia since antiquity, and dried ones were an important commodity on Persian trade routes. Apricots remain an important fruit in modern-day Iran. The Egyptians usually dry apricots, add sweetener, and then use them to make a drink called amar al-dīn.
Its introduction to Greece is attributed to Alexander the Great.[6]
An article on apricot cultivation in Andalusia of Spain is brought down in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture.[7]
Description
The apricot comes from a small to medium-sized tree, 8 to 12 metres (26 to 39 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 40 centimetres in diameter with spreading, dense canopy; leaves are shaped somewhat like a heart, with pointed tips, about 8 centimetres (3 inches) wide.
Apricots contain many nutrients but are highest in vitamin C and potassium. A single apricot contains approximately 3.5 grams of vitamin C and 91 grams of potassium.
- Flowers: Flowers are white to pinkish in color.
- Fruit: The fruit has only one seed; the color runs from yellow to orange and may have a red cast; the surface of the fruit is smooth and nearly hairless.
Varieties
According to the Catalogue of Life and Flora of China, there are six varieties of P. armeniaca:[8][9]
- Prunus armeniaca var. ansu – ansu apricot (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist., anzu), pink-flowered, East Asia
- Prunus armeniaca var. armeniaca – common apricot, Central Asia and China, widely cultivated
- Prunus armeniaca var. holosericea – Tibetan apricot, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Tibet
- Prunus armeniaca var. meixianensis – Mei County apricot, double-flowered, Shaanxi
- Prunus armeniaca var. xiongyueensis – Xiongyue apricot, Liaoning
- Prunus armeniaca var. zhidanensis – Zhidan apricot, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, and Shanxi
Related pages
- Prunus dasycarpa, "Black apricot" or "Purple apricot", a P. tiliifolia hybrid
- List of fruits
References
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:1 - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:2 - ↑ Flora of North America, Prunus armeniaca Linnaeus, 1753. Apricot
- ↑ Australia, Atlas of Living. "Prunus armeniaca : Apricot – Atlas of Living Australia". bie.ala.org.au.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ Altervista Flora Italiana, Albicocco, Prunus armeniaca L. includes photos and European distribution map
- ↑ Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Vol. 1, pp. 203–205. Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Search this book on
..
- ↑ Ibn al-'Awwam, Yaḥyá (1864). Le livre de l'agriculture d'Ibn-al-Awam (kitab-al-felahah) (in français). Translated by J.-J. Clement-Mullet. Paris: A. Franck. pp. 313–315 (ch. 7 – Article 40). OCLC 780050566. Search this book on (pp. 313–315 (Article XL)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:3 - ↑ "Prunus armeniaca L." Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
Other websites
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Wikispecies has information related to Prunus tiliifolia |
- www.apricotseeds.org Archived 2006-01-28 at the Wayback Machine – includes information on medicinal uses of apricot seeds
- Apricot Kernel products – About Apricot Kernel
- Scintro fruit book – All about fruits
- Apricot Nutrition Facts
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