Description:
Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs, including the plums, cherries, peaches, apricots and almonds. It is traditionally placed within the rose family Rosaceae as a subfamily, the Prunoideae (or Amygdaloideae), but sometimes placed in its own family, the Prunaceae (or Amygdalaceae). There are several hundred species of Prunus, spread throughout the northern temperate regions of the globe.
The flowers are usually white to pink, with five petals and five sepals. They are borne singly, or in umbels of two to six or more on racemes. The fruit of all Prunus species is a drupe with a relatively large "stone". Leaves are simple and usually lanceolate, unlobed and toothed along the margin.
Uses
The genus Prunus includes the almond, apricot, cherry, peach and plum, all of which have cultivars developed for commercial fruit production. The edible part of the almond is the seed; the almond fruit is a drupe and not a "nut". There are also a number of species, hybrids, and cultivars grown strictly as ornamental plants, usually for their profusion of flowers, occasionally for leaves and bark. These ornamentals include the group that may be collectively called flowering cherries.
Because of their considerable value as both food and ornamental plants, many Prunus species have been introduced to parts of the world to which they are not native. Many of the Old World species are grown for ornament or fruit, and have been planted throughout the world; and some have become naturalised beyond their native range.
Prunus species are used as food plants for the larvae of a large number of Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera which feed on Prunus.