fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''
Prunus
''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, Cherry, cherries, peaches, Peach#Nectarine, nectarines, apricots, and almonds.
Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of Sou ...
''.
Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also called apricots.
Etymology
''Apricot'' first appeared in English in the 16th century as ''abrecock'' from the
Middle French
Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which:
* the French language became clearly distinguished from ...
''aubercot'' or later ''abricot'', from Spanish '' albaricoque'' and
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
''a(l)bercoc'', in turn from Arabic الْبَرْقُوق (al-barqūq, "the plums"), from Byzantine Greek βερικοκκίᾱ (berikokkíā, "apricot tree"), derived from late Greek ''πραικόκιον'' (''praikókion'', "apricot") from Latin '' ersica ("peach")praecocia'' (''praecoquus'', "early ripening").
Species
Apricots are species belonging to ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca''. The taxonomic position of '' P. brigantina'' is disputed. It is grouped with plum species according to chloroplast DNA sequences, but more closely related to apricot species according to nuclear DNA sequences.
* '' Prunus armeniaca'' – common apricot, widely cultivated for its edible fruit and
kernel
Kernel may refer to:
Computing
* Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems
* Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution
* Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming
* Kernel method, in machine learn ...
* ''
Prunus brigantina
''Prunus brigantina'', called Briançon apricot (french: Abricotier de Briançon), Briançon plum (french: Prunier de Briançon), marmot plum (french: Marmottier), and Alpine apricot, is a wild tree species native to France and Italy. Its fruit i ...
'' – Briançon apricot, native to Europe, cultivated for its edible fruit and oil-producing
kernel
Kernel may refer to:
Computing
* Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems
* Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution
* Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming
* Kernel method, in machine learn ...
*''
Prunus cathayana
''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds.
Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the paleo ...
'' - native to
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...
* ''Prunus'' × ''dasycarpa'' – purple apricot, cultivated in Central Asia and adjacent areas for its edible fruit
* ''
Prunus hongpingensis
''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds.
Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the paleo ...
'' – Hongping apricot, native to
Shennongjia
Shennongjia Forestry District () is a county-level administrative unit (a "forestry district") in northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, directly subordinated to the provincial government. It occupies in western Hubei, and, as of ...
, cultivated for its edible fruit
* ''
Prunus hypotrichodes
''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds.
Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the paleo ...
Prunus limeixing
''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds.
Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the paleo ...
'' – cultivated in northern China for its edible fruit
* '' Prunus mandshurica'' – Manchurian apricot, native to Northeast Asia, cultivated for its
kernel
Kernel may refer to:
Computing
* Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems
* Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution
* Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming
* Kernel method, in machine learn ...
, the fruits of some cultivars edible
* ''
Prunus mume
''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...
'' – Japanese apricot, native to southern China, widely cultivated for its beautiful blossom and edible fruit
* ''
Prunus sibirica
''Prunus sibirica'', called Siberian apricot (), is a species of shrub or small tree native to northern China, Korea, Mongolia, and eastern Siberia. It is in the genus ''Prunus'' in the rose family, Rosaceae, one of several species whose fruit ar ...
'' – Siberian apricot, native to Siberia, Mongolia, northern China, and Korea, cultivated for its
kernel
Kernel may refer to:
Computing
* Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems
* Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution
* Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming
* Kernel method, in machine learn ...
* ''
Prunus zhengheensis
''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...
'' – Zhenghe apricot, native to
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
Description
The apricot is a small tree, tall, with a trunk up to in diameter and a dense, spreading canopy. The leaves are
ovate
Ovate may refer to:
* Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts
*Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe
*Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd
*Vates
In modern English, the nouns vates () and ova ...
, long, and wide, with a rounded base, a pointed tip, and a finely serrated margin. The
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s are in diameter, with five white to pinkish petals; they are produced singly or in pairs in early spring before the leaves. The
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...
, diameter (larger in some modern
cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
s), from yellow to orange, often tinged red on the side most exposed to the sun; its surface can be smooth (botanically described as:
glabrous
Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...
) or velvety with very short hairs (botanically:
pubescent The adjective pubescent may describe:
* people or animals undergoing puberty
* plants that are hairy, covered in trichomes
* insects that are covered in setae
In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a ...
). The flesh is usually succulent, but dry in some species such as '' P. sibirica''. Its taste can range from sweet to tart. The single
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
or "
kernel
Kernel may refer to:
Computing
* Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems
* Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution
* Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming
* Kernel method, in machine learn ...
" is enclosed in a hard shell, often called a "
stone
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
", with a grainy, smooth texture except for three ridges running down one side.Flora of China ''Armeniaca'' /ref>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .
Cultivation and uses
Origin and domestication
''Prunus armeniaca''
The most commonly cultivated apricot ''P. armeniaca'' was known in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
during ancient times, and has been cultivated there for so long that it was previously thought to have originated there, hence the epithet of its scientific name. However, this is not supported by genetic studies, which instead confirm the hypothesis proposed by Nikolai Vavilov that domestication of ''P. armeniaca'' occurred in
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
and China. The domesticated apricot then diffused south to
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
, west to
West Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
(including Armenia),
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
Japanese apricot '' P. mume'' is another widely cultivated apricot species, usually for ornamental uses. Despite the common name, it originated from China, and was introduced to Japan in ancient times.
Cultivation practices
Apricots have a chilling requirement of 300 to 900 chilling units. A dry climate is good for fruit maturation. The tree is slightly more cold-hardy than the
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...
, tolerating winter temperatures as cold as or lower if healthy. They are hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8. A limiting factor in apricot culture is spring frosts: They tend to flower very early (in early March in western Europe), meaning spring frost can kill the flowers. Furthermore, the trees are sensitive to temperature changes during the winter season. In China, winters can be very cold, but temperatures tend to be more stable than in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and especially North America, where large temperature swings can occur in winter. Hybridization with the closely related ''
Prunus sibirica
''Prunus sibirica'', called Siberian apricot (), is a species of shrub or small tree native to northern China, Korea, Mongolia, and eastern Siberia. It is in the genus ''Prunus'' in the rose family, Rosaceae, one of several species whose fruit ar ...
'' (Siberian apricot; hardy to but with less palatable fruit) offers options for breeding more cold-tolerant plants. They prefer well-drained soils with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0.
Apricot cultivars are usually
grafted
Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...
onto plum or peach rootstocks. The cultivar
scion
Scion may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
*Scion, a playable class in the game '' Path of Exile'' (2013)
*Atlantean Scion, a device in the ''Tomb Raider'' video game series
*Scions, an alien race in the video game ''B ...
provides the fruit characteristics, such as flavor and size, but the
rootstock
A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a ...
provides the growth characteristics of the plant. Some of the more popular US apricot cultivars are 'Blenheim', 'Wenatchee Moorpark', 'Tilton', and 'Perfection'. Some apricot cultivars are self-compatible, so do not require pollinizer trees; others are not: 'Moongold' and 'Sungold', for example, must be planted in pairs so they can pollinate each other.
Hybridisors have created what is known as a "black apricot" or "purple apricot", ('' Prunus dasycarpa''), a hybrid of an apricot and the cherry plum (''
Apricots are susceptible to various diseases whose relative importance differs in the major production regions as a consequence of their climatic differences. For example, hot weather as experienced in California's Central Valley often causes pit burn, a condition of soft and brown fruit around the pit. Bacterial diseases include bacterial spot and crown gall. Fungal diseases include brown rot caused by ''
Monilinia fructicola
''Monilinia fructicola'' is a species of fungus in the order Helotiales. A plant pathogen, it is the causal agent of brown rot of stone fruits.
Stone fruit (summer fruit)
Stone fruits such as apricot and peaches originated in China and spread t ...
'': infection of the blossom by rainfall leads to "blossom wilt" whereby the blossoms and young shoots turn brown and die; the twigs die back in a severe attack; brown rot of the fruit is due to ''Monilinia'' infection later in the season. Dieback of branches in the summer is attributed to the fungus ''
Eutypa lata
Phomopsis cane and leaf spot occurs wherever grapes are grown. Phomopsis cane and leaf spot is more severe in grape-growing regions characterized by a humid temperate climate through the growing season. Crop losses up to 30% have been reported to ...
'', where examination of the base of the dead branch reveals a canker surrounding a pruning wound. Other fungal diseases are black knot, ''Alternaria'' spot and fruit rot, and
powdery mildew
Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, a ...
. Unlike peaches, apricots are not affected by leaf curl, and bacterial canker (causing sunken patches in the bark, which then spread and kill the affected branch or tree) and silver leaf are not serious threats, which means that pruning in late winter is considered safe.
Kernel
Due to their natural
amygdalin
Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: ' "almond") is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in many plants, most notably in the seeds (kernels) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, cherries, and plums.
Amygdalin is classified as a cy ...
content culinary uses for the kernel are limited. Oil made from apricot kernels is safe for human consumption without treatment because amygdalin is not oil soluble. Ground up shells are used in
cosmetics
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
as an exfoliant. As an exfoliant it provides an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic
microbeads
Microbeads are manufactured solid plastic particles of less than one millimeter in their largest dimension. They are most frequently made of polyethylene but can be of other petrochemical plastics such as polypropylene and polystyrene.
They are ...
In 2020, world production of apricots was 3.72 million
tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s, led by
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
with 22% of the total (table). Other major producers (in descending order) were
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
Malatya
Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...
is the center of Turkey's apricot industry.
Nutrition
In a 100-gram amount, raw apricots supply 48
Calories
The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of o ...
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...
, less than 1%
fat
In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...
, and 86% water (table). Raw apricots are a moderate source of
vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably ...
and
vitamin C
Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...
(12% of the
Daily Value
The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of healthy ...
each).
Dried apricots
Dried apricots are a type of
traditional dried fruit
Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to t ...
. The world's largest producer of dried apricots is Turkey. When treated with sulfur dioxide (E220), the color is vivid
orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
. Organic fruit not treated with sulfur dioxide is darker in color and has a coarser texture. When apricots are dried, the relative concentration of nutrients is increased, with vitamin A,
vitamin E
Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vi ...
,
potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosph ...
, and
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
provitamin A A provitamin is a substance that may be converted within the body to a vitamin. The term previtamin is a synonym.
The term "provitamin" is used when it is desirable to label a substance with little or no vitamin activity, but which can be converted ...
polyphenol
Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some o ...
s, including
catechins
Flavan-3-ols (sometimes referred to as flavanols) are a subgroup of flavonoids. They are derivatives of flavans that possess a 2-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2''H''-chromen-3-ol skeleton. Flavan-3-ols are structurally diverse and include a range of comp ...
and
chlorogenic acid
Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is the ester of caffeic acid and (−)-quinic acid, functioning as an intermediate in lignin biosynthesis. The term "chlorogenic acids" refers to a related polyphenol family of esters, including hydroxycinnamic acids ( caf ...
glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, u ...
,
organic acids
An organic acid is an organic compound with acidic properties. The most common organic acids are the carboxylic acids, whose acidity is associated with their carboxyl group –COOH. Sulfonic acids, containing the group –SO2OH, are r ...
,
terpene
Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n > 1. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predominantly by plants, particularly conifers. Terpenes ...
s,
aldehyde
In organic chemistry, an aldehyde () is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure . The functional group itself (without the "R" side chain) can be referred to as an aldehyde but can also be classified as a formyl grou ...
s and
lactone
Lactones are cyclic carboxylic esters, containing a 1-oxacycloalkan-2-one structure (), or analogues having unsaturation or heteroatoms replacing one or more carbon atoms of the ring.
Lactones are formed by intramolecular esterification of the co ...
s.
Apricot kernel
An apricot kernel is the apricot seed located within the fruit endocarp, which forms a hard shell around the seed called the pyrena (stone or pit).
The kernel contains amygdalin, a poisonous compound, in concentrations that vary between culti ...
s (seeds) contain
amygdalin
Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: ' "almond") is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in many plants, most notably in the seeds (kernels) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, cherries, and plums.
Amygdalin is classified as a cy ...
, a poisonous compound. On average, bitter apricot kernels contain about 5% amygdalin and sweet kernels about 0.9% amygdalin. These values correspond to 0.3% and 0.05% of
cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
. Since a typical apricot kernel weighs 600 mg, bitter and sweet varieties contain, respectively, 1.8 and 0.3 mg of cyanide.
In culture
The apricot is the
national fruit
This is list of national fruits alphabetically arranged by country. Some national fruits are officially designated, some are unofficial.
References
{{National symbols
Fruit
Fruits
Fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing struct ...
of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
, mostly growing in the Ararat plain. It is often depicted on souvenirs.
The Chinese associate the apricot with education and medicine. For instance, the classical word 杏壇 (literally: "apricot
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
") (xìng tán 杏坛) which means "educational circle", is still widely used in written language. Chuang Tzu, a Chinese philosopher in the fourth century BC, told a story that
Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
taught his students in a forum surrounded by the wood of apricot trees. The association with medicine in turn comes from the common use of apricot kernels as a component in
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...
, and from the story of Dong Feng (董奉), a physician during the
Three Kingdoms period
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the We ...
, who required no payment from his patients except that they plant apricot trees in his orchard upon recovering from their illnesses, resulting in a large grove of apricot trees and a steady supply of medicinal ingredients. The term "expert of the apricot grove" (杏林高手) is still used as a poetic reference to physicians.
The fact that apricot season is short has given rise to the common
Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and ...
and
Palestinian Arabic
Palestinian Arabic is a dialect continuum of mutually intelligible varieties of Levantine Arabic spoken by most Palestinians in Palestine, Israel and in the Palestinian diaspora. Together with Jordanian Arabic, it has the ISO 639-3 language cod ...
eason Eason is a surname.
The name comes from Aythe where the first recorded spelling of the family name is that of Aythe Filius Thome which was dated circa 1630, in the "Baillie of Stratherne". Aythe ''filius'' Thome received a charter of the lands of F ...
) or ''bukra filmishmish'' ("tomorrow in apricot
eason Eason is a surname.
The name comes from Aythe where the first recorded spelling of the family name is that of Aythe Filius Thome which was dated circa 1630, in the "Baillie of Stratherne". Aythe ''filius'' Thome received a charter of the lands of F ...
), generally uttered as a riposte to an unlikely prediction, or as a rash promise to fulfill a request.
In Middle Eastern and North African cuisines, apricots are used to make Qamar al-Din ( "Moon of the Religion"), a thick apricot drink that is a popular fixture at
Iftar
Iftar ( ar, translit=Iftar Ramadan, إفطار رمضان), also known as (from , , 'breakfast'), (), is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. They break their fast at the time of the call to prayer ...
during Ramadan. Qamar al-Din is believed to originate in
Damascus, Syria
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
, where the variety of apricots most suitable for the drink was first grown.
In Jewish culture, apricots are commonly eaten as part of the Tu Bishvat seder.
The Turkish idiom ''bundan iyisi Şam'da kayısı'' (literally, "the only thing better than this is an apricot in Damascus") means "it doesn't get any better than this".
In the US Marines it is considered exceptionally bad luck to eat or possess apricots, especially near tanks. This superstition has been documented since at least the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
and is often cited as originating in World War II. Even calling them by their name is considered unlucky, so they are instead called "cots", "Forbidden fruit" or "A-fruit".
Gallery
File:Dried date, peach, apricot, and stones. From Lahun, Fayum, Egypt. Late Middle Kingdom. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg, Dried date, peach, apricot, and stones. From Lahun, Fayum, Egypt. Late Middle Kingdom. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
File:Marillenblüten.jpg, Blooms of an apricot
File:Apricot kernel (endocarp + seed).jpg, Apricot kernel (endocarp and seed)
File:Dried apricot 01 Pengo.jpg, Dried apricot, with dark color due to absence of sulfur dioxide treatment
File:Сибирский абрикос.jpg,
Prunus sibirica
''Prunus sibirica'', called Siberian apricot (), is a species of shrub or small tree native to northern China, Korea, Mongolia, and eastern Siberia. It is in the genus ''Prunus'' in the rose family, Rosaceae, one of several species whose fruit ar ...
(Siberian apricot; hardy to but with less palatable fruit)
File:Turkey.Pasa Baglari005.jpg, Apricot tree,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
File:Apricots Drying In Cappadocia.JPG, Apricots drying on the ground in
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...
File:Syrian apricot paste 01.jpg, Syrian apricot paste
File:Packaging apricot fruits in Surkhandarya (Uzbekistan).jpg, Packaging apricot fruits in
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
File:Dried process of apricot fruits.jpg, Drying apricot fruits
File:Marelica Kečkemetska ruža - zreli plodovi na grani.jpg, 'Kecskemét Rose' - a pale and juicy apricot variety
See also
*
Barack (brandy)
Barack () is a type of Hungarian brandy (Pálinka) made of (or flavored with) apricots; an apricot brandy.
The word ''barack'' is a collective term for both apricot (in Hungarian ''sárgabarack'', lit. "yellow-peach") and peach
The peach ...