Prunus

'''''Prunus''''' is a [[genus]] of [[flowering plant|flowering]] [[tree]]s and [[shrub]]s from the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Rosaceae]], with about 340 accepted [[species]] ({{as of|2024|3|lc=y}}){{Cite book|title=The evolutionary biology of plants |last=Niklas |first=Karl J.|date=1997 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0226580838 |location=Chicago |oclc=35262271}} that include [[peach]]es and [[nectarine]]s, [[apricot]]s, [[plum]]s, [[cherry|cherries]] and [[almond]]s. The genus has a [[cosmopolitan distribution]],{{cite web|title=''Prunus'' L. |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |work=Plants of the World Online |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30003057-2 |access-date=17 March 2024}} being native to the [[temperate]] regions of [[North America]], the [[neotropics]] of [[South America]], and temperate and [[tropical]] regions of [[Eurasia]] and [[Africa]],{{Cite journal |last1=Chin |first1=S.W. |last2=Shaw |first2=J. |last3=Haberle |first3=R. |last4=Wen |first4=J. |last5=Potter |first5=R. |date=July 2014 |title=Diversification of almonds, peaches, plums and cherries – Molecular systematics and biogeographic history of Prunus (Rosaceae) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=76 |pages=34–48 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.024|pmid=24631854 |bibcode=2014MolPE..76...34C }}

'''''Prunus''''' is a [[genus]] of [[flowering plant|flowering]] [[tree]]s and [[shrub]]s from the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Rosaceae]], with about 340 accepted [[species]] ({{as of|2024|3|lc=y}}){{Cite book|title=The evolutionary biology of plants |last=Niklas |first=Karl J.|date=1997 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0226580838 |location=Chicago |oclc=35262271}} that include [[peach]]es and [[nectarine]]s, [[apricot]]s, [[plum]]s, [[cherry|cherries]] and [[almond]]s. The genus has a [[cosmopolitan distribution]],{{cite web|title=''Prunus'' L. |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |work=Plants of the World Online |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30003057-2 |access-date=17 March 2024}} being native to the [[temperate]] regions of [[North America]], the [[neotropics]] of [[South America]], and temperate and [[tropical]] regions of [[Eurasia]] and [[Africa]],{{Cite journal |last1=Chin |first1=S.W. |last2=Shaw |first2=J. |last3=Haberle |first3=R. |last4=Wen |first4=J. |last5=Potter |first5=R. |date=July 2014 |title=Diversification of almonds, peaches, plums and cherries – Molecular systematics and biogeographic history of Prunus (Rosaceae) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=76 |pages=34–48 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.024|pmid=24631854 |bibcode=2014MolPE..76...34C }}

Many members of the genus are widely [[horticulture|cultivated]] for their sweet, fleshy [[fruit]], as well as for [[ornamental plant|decorative purposes]] due to the colorful seasonal [[blossom]] of their [[flower]]s. ''Prunus'' fruit are [[drupe]]s, or stone fruits. The fleshy [[mesocarp]] surrounding the [[endocarp]] is edible while the endocarp itself forms a hard, inedible shell called the [[pyrena]] ("stone" or "pit"){{Cite journal |last1=Velasco |first1=Dianne |last2=Hough |first2=Josh |last3=Aradhya |first3=Mallikarjuna |last4=Ross-Ibarra |first4=Jeffrey |date=1 December 2016 |title=Evolutionary Genomics of Peach and Almond Domestication |journal=G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics |volume=6 |issue=12 |pages=3985–3993 |doi=10.1534/g3.116.032672 |issn=2160-1836 |pmid=27707802 |pmc=5144968}} that encloses the [[seed]] (or "kernel"), which is edible in some species (such as almonds) but poisonous in many others (such as [[apricot kernel]]s). Besides being eaten off the hand, most ''Prunus'' fruit are also commonly used to make [[processed food]]s and [[beverage]]s such as [[canned fruit|canned]] and [[dried fruit]], [[fruit juice]]s (e.g. [[cherry juice|cherry]] and [[prune juice]]), [[jam]], [[gelatine dessert]]s and [[roasting|roast]]ed seeds.{{Cite book |title=Health-promoting properties of fruit and vegetables |date=2011 |publisher=CABI |last=Terry |first=Leon A. |isbn=9781845935283 |location=Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK |oclc=697808315}}

Many members of the genus are widely [[horticulture|cultivated]] for their sweet, fleshy [[fruit]], as well as for [[ornamental plant|decorative purposes]] due to the colorful seasonal [[blossom]] of their [[flower]]s. ''Prunus'' fruit are [[drupe]]s, or stone fruits. The fleshy [[mesocarp]] surrounding the [[endocarp]] is edible while the endocarp itself forms a hard, inedible shell called the [[pyrena]] ("stone" or "pit"){{Cite journal |last1=Velasco |first1=Dianne |last2=Hough |first2=Josh |last3=Aradhya |first3=Mallikarjuna |last4=Ross-Ibarra |first4=Jeffrey |date=1 December 2016 |title=Evolutionary Genomics of Peach and Almond Domestication |journal=G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics |volume=6 |issue=12 |pages=3985–3993 |doi=10.1534/g3.116.032672 |issn=2160-1836 |pmid=27707802 |pmc=5144968}} that encloses the [[seed]] (or "kernel"), which is edible in some species (such as almonds) but poisonous in many others (such as [[apricot kernel]]s). Besides being eaten fresh, most ''Prunus'' fruit are also commonly used to make [[processed food]]s and [[beverage]]s such as [[canning|canned]] and [[dried fruit]], [[fruit juice]]s (e.g. [[cherry juice|cherry]] and [[prune juice]]), [[jam]], [[gelatine dessert]]s and [[roasting|roast]]ed seeds.{{Cite book |title=Health-promoting properties of fruit and vegetables |date=2011 |publisher=CABI |last=Terry |first=Leon A. |isbn=9781845935283 |location=Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK |oclc=697808315}}

==Description==

==Description==