Prunus armeniaca (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Prunus armeniaca L.

Family: Rosaceae

Synonyms

• Armeniaca vulgaris Lamk.

Vernacular names

• Apricot (En)
• Abricotier (Fr)
• Indonesia, Malaysia: badam
• Thailand: aprikhot
• Vietnam: mo'.

Distribution

South-eastern Europe, central Asia, north-eastern China to Turkestan. Commercially cultivated in eastern Asia, India, China, Europe and America. In South-East Asia only occasionally cultivated.

Uses

The fruits are eaten fresh, dried, candied or conserved and are also used to prepare jams and drinks. Seedlings are used as rootstock for P. domestica L.

Observations

• Round-headed tree up to 10 m tall with globose fruit (drupe), about 3 cm in diameter, reddish-yellow.

Fruits cannot be stored for long. Cultivated in the tropics always at higher altitudes.

Selected sources

• International Society for Horticultural Science, 1983. Seventh Symposium on apricot culture and decline. Acta Horticulturae 121. 448 pp.

• Simon, P. & Weiland, G., 1980. Bibliographie des internationalen Aprikosen Schrifttums. Aktuelle Literaturinformationen aus dem Obstbau No 98. Technische Universität, Berlin.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen