''Prunus microphylla'' is a species of ''
Prunus
''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 p ...
'' found in the semi-arid regions of Mexico, able to thrive in areas that receive only 300 to 500mm of rain annually. Judging from its morphology, it is most closely related to ''
Prunus minutiflora
''Prunus minutiflora'', called the Texas almond, is a shrub native to Texas and northern Mexico.
'Minutiflora' means "minute flower" as the flowers of this shrub are very tiny, with petals being only long. It has small flowers and dark brown/bl ...
''. As its specific epithet suggests, its leaves are quite small, only 1 to 1.5cm long. It is a dense shrub reaching about 1m, with small white flowers. It was first described by
Kunth
Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850), also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist. He is known for being one of the first to study and categorise plants from the American continents, ...
as ''Amygdalus microphylla'' from the collections made by
Humboldt during his voyage to the Americas from 1799 to 1804.
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15545833, from2=Q50826939
microphylla
Endemic flora of Mexico
Flora of Northeastern Mexico
Flora of Central Mexico
Flora of Southwestern Mexico
Flora of Veracruz
Plants described in 1880
Drought-tolerant plants