Dwarf almond
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Dwarf almond ( Prunus tenella ) |
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The dwarf almond ( Prunus tenella ), also called shrub almond , is a species of the Prunus genus .
description
Vegetative characteristics
The dwarf almond is a runners-forming , upright shrub that reaches heights of up to 1.5 meters. The main branches branch out several times and there are numerous short shoots. At first the bark of the branches is white or reddish brown and becomes grayer or gray-brown over time; she is always bald. There is an end bud on long shoots. At least on strong long shoots, the side buds in the leaf axils are usually in threes. The scales of the winter buds are brown and ciliate on the edge.
The leaves are 3 to 7 inches long, 1 to 3 inches wide, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, pointed, wedge-shaped at the base and sharply serrate at the edge. They are bare, light green, only indistinctly stalked and folded in the bud position. The nerves on the underside of the leaf emerge only indistinctly.
Generative characteristics
The flowering period extends from April to May. The flowers are usually arranged individually or in twos or threes and appear together with the leaves. They are surrounded by brown scales of buds and only indistinctly stalked. Their diameter is 1 to 2 centimeters. The flower cup is 5 to 8 millimeters long and 2 to 3 millimeters wide. It is at least twice as long as it is wide, tubular and bald. The sepals are 3 to 4 millimeters long, oblong-egg-shaped, glabrous and finely serrated with cartilaginous edges. The petals are 10 to 15 millimeters long, 4 to 8 millimeters wide, oblong to obovate, wedge-shaped at the base, usually with entire margins and brightly pink in color. The 20 to 30 stamens are 4 to 8 millimeters long. The anthers are reddish in color.
The fruit, which is gray-yellow when ripe, has a diameter of 12 to 22 millimeters, is almost spherical, has thick tufted hairs and has a longitudinal furrow. The flesh is thin and leathery. The stone core is 8 to 18 millimeters long, flattened, broadly ovoid, keeled and mostly reticulate-wrinkled.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 16.
Occurrence
The area of the species includes eastern Austria, southern Moravia, Hungary, Bulgaria, the south-east of the former Yugoslavia, Albania as the most south-westerly location, the steppe areas in southern Russia and Kazakhstan. In the Caucasus, as well as in the Altai and Tarbagatai mountains and in the Tien Shan, there are special isolated mountain forms ( Prunus georgica , Prunus ledebouriana and Prunus petunnikowii ), which are mostly considered to be separate species.
In Central Europe, Prunus tenella is indigenous only in Austria and Moravia. In Austria it occurs only in a few places in the southeastern Weinviertel (Hochleiten, Dachgraben near Matzen and the ridge between Ebenthal and Stillfried), as well as in Burgenland. In Moravia it can be found near Auspitz, Donawitz, Nikolsburg, Pausram, Poppitz and in the Pollau mountains . In Germany it rarely ran wild from plantations.
The dwarf almond grows on dry meadows, especially on steppe meadows, as well as in bushes and scraps of shrubbery, on fields and on the edges of vineyards. It can only be found in the area of the Pannonian flora .
use
The garden varieties 'Alba' with white flowers, 'Fire Hill' with intensely red, densely packed flowers and 'Speciosa' with dark pink-red flowers and a low bush growth are used as ornamental plants.
Systematics
In the main distribution area of the dwarf almond, the south of Eastern Europe and Asia, various forms are found, the systematic status of which has not yet been clarified.
The variety 'Speciosa' was also called Prunus tenella fo. gessleriana Rehder .
etymology
The specific epithet tenella refers to the Latin tenellus , which means very fine or very delicate and alludes to the growth.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hildemar Scholz, Ilse Scholz: Prunus . In: Hans J. Conert u. a. (Ed.): Gustav Hegi : Illustrated flora of Central Europe . Volume 4 Part 2B: Spermatophyta: Angiospermae: Dicotyledones 2 (3). Rosaceae 2 . Blackwell Verlag 1995, ISBN 3-8263-2533-8 , pp. 486-488.
