Prunus simonii | |
---|---|
Simon plum fruit and leaves | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rosaceae |
Genus: | Prunus |
Subgenus: | Prunus subg. Prunus |
Section: | Prunus sect. Prunus |
Species: | P. simonii
|
Binomial name | |
Prunus simonii |
Prunus simonii, called apricot plum and Simon plum, is a tree in the genus Prunus. It was first described by Elie-Abel Carrière in 1872 and is native to Hebei province, China. [1] The species is not known in a truly wild state. [2] It has been important for breeding commercial plum cultivars from crosses with other species of the genus Prunus. [3] [4] The species is named for Gabriel Eugène Simon (1829–1896), a French botanist and diplomat who sent pits to the Paris Museum in the early 1860s while he was representing the French government in China. [5] [6] [7] [8] Beginning about 1881, the species became commonly known in the United States; having been introduced there from France. [5]
Prunus simonii is a small deciduous tree growing to about 6 meters (20 ft) in height. [2] The flowers produce almost no pollen; the fruit varies in quality, can be bitter or pleasant to eat, and is flat in shape. [2] [9] Just like an apricot, the fruit flesh clings tightly to the pit. The taste is often bitter. Fruit production is not particularly bountiful. The fruit is dark red [5] or "brick red". [10] The branches are slender and the leaves oblong. [11] In appearance, the fruit is flatter than most plums, looking "tomato-like". [3] The fruit is particularly aromatic, much more so than Prunus salicina, with a comparatively high level of hexyl acetate, which gives apples their aroma. [12] [13]
Plant breeder Luther Burbank devoted a lot of work to hybridizing this species with the Japanese plum ( Prunus salicina) and developed a number of cultivars from the hybrid. [14] Of these, the cultivar ' Climax' was particularly notable for its importance to the fruit shipping industry of California. [9] Other influential plum cultivars that Burbank developed with P. simonii ancestry include 'Maynard', 'Chalco', 'Santa Rosa', and 'Formosa'. [15] Those two species and the European species Prunus cerasifera have contributed the majority of the genetic constitution of modern Japanese-type plum cultivars, with lesser contributions from three native American species P. americana, P. angustifolia, and P. munsoniana. [16]
Prunus simonii | |
---|---|
Simon plum fruit and leaves | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rosaceae |
Genus: | Prunus |
Subgenus: | Prunus subg. Prunus |
Section: | Prunus sect. Prunus |
Species: | P. simonii
|
Binomial name | |
Prunus simonii |
Prunus simonii, called apricot plum and Simon plum, is a tree in the genus Prunus. It was first described by Elie-Abel Carrière in 1872 and is native to Hebei province, China. [1] The species is not known in a truly wild state. [2] It has been important for breeding commercial plum cultivars from crosses with other species of the genus Prunus. [3] [4] The species is named for Gabriel Eugène Simon (1829–1896), a French botanist and diplomat who sent pits to the Paris Museum in the early 1860s while he was representing the French government in China. [5] [6] [7] [8] Beginning about 1881, the species became commonly known in the United States; having been introduced there from France. [5]
Prunus simonii is a small deciduous tree growing to about 6 meters (20 ft) in height. [2] The flowers produce almost no pollen; the fruit varies in quality, can be bitter or pleasant to eat, and is flat in shape. [2] [9] Just like an apricot, the fruit flesh clings tightly to the pit. The taste is often bitter. Fruit production is not particularly bountiful. The fruit is dark red [5] or "brick red". [10] The branches are slender and the leaves oblong. [11] In appearance, the fruit is flatter than most plums, looking "tomato-like". [3] The fruit is particularly aromatic, much more so than Prunus salicina, with a comparatively high level of hexyl acetate, which gives apples their aroma. [12] [13]
Plant breeder Luther Burbank devoted a lot of work to hybridizing this species with the Japanese plum ( Prunus salicina) and developed a number of cultivars from the hybrid. [14] Of these, the cultivar ' Climax' was particularly notable for its importance to the fruit shipping industry of California. [9] Other influential plum cultivars that Burbank developed with P. simonii ancestry include 'Maynard', 'Chalco', 'Santa Rosa', and 'Formosa'. [15] Those two species and the European species Prunus cerasifera have contributed the majority of the genetic constitution of modern Japanese-type plum cultivars, with lesser contributions from three native American species P. americana, P. angustifolia, and P. munsoniana. [16]