''Prunus arabica'' is a species of
wild almond found across the Middle East. It is a broomlike shrub typically 0.75 to 2m tall, with brown bark. Its leaves have a 5-8 mm petiole and the leaf blades are 15 to 44 mm long and 3 to 10 mm wide. Its inflorescences have dark red hypanthia and sepals (green on the interior of the sepals), and white, pale pink or pink petals. The flowers are borne on a pedicel about 3 mm long, which lengthens to 6 mm when the fruit is fully developed.
It prefers to grow in arid or semiarid areas at 500 to 2700m above sea level. A full genetic and morphological analysis suggests that ''
Prunus scoparia
''Prunus scoparia'' is a wild almond found in Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. It is a xerophytic
A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to sur ...
'' may be conspecific with it; certainly it is its closest relative.
[ It is occasionally cultivated for erosion control, as its brushy growth form makes a good windbreak.]
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{{Taxonbar, from1=Q12210938, from2=Q25694703, from3=Q17234582, from4=Q50827926
arabica
Plants described in 1960
Flora of Western Asia
Flora of the Arabian Peninsula