Siberian apricot
| Siberian apricot | ||||||||||||
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Fruit and leaves of a Siberian apricot |
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| Prunus sibirica | ||||||||||||
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The Siberian apricot ( Prunus sibirica ) is a species of the genus Prunus in the rose family (Rosaceae). Like the apricot, it belongs to the Armeniaca section in the Prunus subgenus . The Chinese common name is 山杏 shan xing.
description
Vegetative characteristics
The Siberian apricot grows as a deciduous shrub or small tree and reaches heights of 2 to 5 meters. It is very frost-resistant and can withstand temperatures down to −45 ° C. The bark is dark gray. The bark of the twigs is reddish to dark brown, initially sparsely hairy, but soon bare. The branches are spread out. The reddish brown winter buds are ovate to conical and 2 to 4 mm long. The edges of the bud scales are hairy downy.
The alternate leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The initially fluffy, but soon bald, red petiole is 2 to 3.5 cm long and has only small or no nectar glands. The simple, egg-shaped to almost circular, pointed leaf blade has a length of (rarely 3 to) 5 to 10 centimeters and a width of (rarely 2.5 to) 4 to 7 centimeters with a rounded to heart-shaped base. Either both leaf surfaces are initially reddish and hairy, later glossy green and glabrous, or only the underside of the leaf is hairy on the branches of the leaf veins . The leaf margin is blunt, tiny serrated. There are stipules present.
Generative characteristics
From March to April the single flowers open in front of the leaves. The flower stalk has a length of 1 to 2 mm. The bell-shaped flower cup (hypanthium) is purple-red on the outside and hairless or hairy at the base. The hermaphrodite, with a diameter of 1.5 to 3.5 cm radially symmetrical flower is five-fold with double perianth . The five sepals are elongated-elliptical and bent back during the flowering period. The five free, almost circular to obovate petals are white with pink veins. The many free stamens are almost as long as the petals. The upper ovary is hairy downy.
The compressed, spherical stone fruit is hardly edible and has a diameter of 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters. It is yellow to orange-red, but reddish in color on the side facing the sun and can be frosted. The dry and compact, 2.5 to 3 mm thick mesocarp separates easily from the endocarp and opens along the abdominal suture when mature. The endocarp is laterally compressed with a diameter of 1.2 to 2.2 cm, spherical with a smooth surface. The seed is more or less bitter. The fruits ripen from June to July.
distribution
The Siberian apricot is found in Russia , Korea , Mongolia and the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi.
In China, Prunus sibirica thrives in forests, bushes, mountainous regions, hilly grasslands, river valleys, on slopes and dry sunny slopes at altitudes between 400 and 2500 meters.
Systematics
The species name Prunus sibirica was 1753 Linnaeus in Species Plantarum , 1, p 474 first published . Prunus sibirica belongs to the section Armeniaca in the subgenus Prunus within the genus Prunus .
There are four varieties:
- Armeniaca sibirica var. Multipetala G.S.Liu & LBZhang : The leaf blade and petiole are glabrous. The flowers are filled with a diameter of 3 to 3.5 cm. It occurs naturally only on slopes at altitudes of about 400 meters in eastern Hebei (Qinglong Xian).
- Armeniaca sibirica var. Pleniflora J.Y. Zhang et al. : The leaf blade and the petiole are initially downy hairy. The flowers are filled with a diameter of 3 to 3.5 cm. It occurs naturally only in mountainous regions at altitudes of about 800 meters in western Liaoning (Beipiao Xian).
- Armeniaca sibirica var. Pubescens Kostina : The leaf blade and the petiole are initially hairy, later only the branches of the leaf veins on the underside of the leaf are hairy. The flowers are simple, 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter.
- Armeniaca sibirica L. var. Sibirica : The leaf blade and the petiole are mostly bare. The flowers are simple, 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter.
swell
- Lu Lingdi, Bruce Bartholomew: Armeniaca in der Flora of China , Volume 9, 2003, p. 398: Prunus sibirica - Online. (Section description, systematics and dissemination)
