''Prunus davidiana''Chittenden, Fred J., Synge, Patrick M., editors. 1977. “The Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening”, edn. 2, Oxford University Press. . Volume 3, pp. 1696Hogan, Sean, chief consultant. 2003, 2004. "Flora A Gardener's Encyclopedia", Global Nook Publishing Pty Ltd, Timber Press. . Volume 2, pp. 1093 (syn. ''Amygdalus davidiana,'' ''Persica davidiana,'' ''Prunus persica'' var. ''davidiana'') is a 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 ...

'' in the family Rosaceae. It is also known by the common names David's peach and Chinese wild peach. It is native to China, preferring to grow in forests and thickets, on slopes in mountain valleys, and in waste fields, from 800 to 3200m. It is resistant to frost, and to a number of pests and diseases of cultivated peach, and is the subject of many studies for the genetic improvement of peaches.

Description

Deciduous, upright tree. *Height and Spread: Reaches a maximum height and spread of 9 m (30 ft) by 9 m (30 ft). *Branches: Young branches whippy, upright, and smooth. *Bark: smooth, dark purplish-red *Leaves: Dark green, glabrous leaves are lanceolate-narrow ovate in shape, ranging in length from 5–12 cm (2–5 in). Leaf point is long and slender, tapering to a point; leaf margins finely toothed. Petioles are glandular. *Inflorescences: Flowers in late winter-early spring or in February. **Flowers: 2.5 cm (1 in) wide and white to pale pink to rosy in color. **Pedicels: Very short. *Fruit: Yellow, furry, edible.

Cultivation

Fully hardy. Prefers full sun. In China it is largely used as an ornamental, and the fruit is eaten but not prized. In peach growing regions throughout the world it is used as a source of rootstocks.

Varieties

*''P. davidiana'' var. ''alba'' has white flowers. *''P. davidiana'' var. ''rubra'' has deep rosy-colored flowers.

Etymology

''Prunus'' is the ancient Latin name for plum trees. ''Davidiana'' is named for L'Abbé Armand David (1826-1900), a missionary and collector of Chinese plants.Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 135, 316

References

External links

* {{Peaches davidiana Flora of Asia Flora of China Ornamental trees Peaches Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN Taxa named by Élie-Abel Carrière