Prunus simonii Carr.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Prunus simonii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/prunus/prunus-simonii/). Accessed 2024-10-04.

Genus

Common Names

  • Apricot Plum

Glossary

fastigiate
(of a tree or shrub) Narrow in form with ascending branches held more or less parallel to the trunk.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
lanceolate
Lance-shaped; broadest in middle tapering to point.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Prunus simonii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/prunus/prunus-simonii/). Accessed 2024-10-04.

A small deciduous tree of slender, pyramidal habit, the branches erect, young shoots glabrous. Leaves oval-lanceolate, finely toothed, 3 to 4 in. long, 1 to 114 in. wide, resembling those of the peach; stalk short, glanded. Flowers white, solitary or in pairs, up to 1 in. across, opening in March and April; petals obovate. Fruits 2 in. wide, 112 in. deep, tomato-shaped, very shortly stalked, uniform brick-red, smooth like a nectarine, the flesh apricot-yellow and pleasantly fragrant, aromatic, and very palatable.

There seems to be some doubt as to the origin of this tree, and although it is believed to be a native of north China, its wild habitat is unknown. It is cultivated about Peking, and was introduced originally to the Jardin des Plantes at Paris in 1867 by Eugene Simon, after whom it is named, and was put in commerce by Messrs Thibaut & Keteleer of Sceaux, near Paris, in 1872. It has borne fruits in the gardens of Aldenham House, Elstree, but this happens rarely, owing to flowers being so liable to damage by frost. Although called “Apricot” plum, its affinities are doubtful. Some authors regard it as a plum, but it appears rather to be intermediate between that and the nectarine. It is a useful fruit tree in California, and has been hybridised with P. salicina – the Japanese plum. Very distinct in its almost fastigiate habit.