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The fruit of the small, deciduous almond tree.

Almond

The fruit of the small, deciduous almond tree.

The almond nut is the pit of stone of a peach like fruit.

Almond Nuts

The almond nut is the pit of stone of a peach like fruit.

"A genus of the natural orer Rosaceae, sub-order Amygdaleae or Drupaceae, consisting of trees or shrubs, distinguished by the coarsely furrowed and wrinkled shell of the drupe, and by the young leaves being conduplicate, or having their sides folded together." — Chambers' Encyclopedia, 1875

Almond Tree

"A genus of the natural orer Rosaceae, sub-order Amygdaleae or Drupaceae, consisting of trees or shrubs,…

The almond is native to Iran, from northwestern Saudi Arabia, north through western Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, western Syria, to southern Turkey. It is a small deciduous tree, growing to between 4 and 10 meters in height, with a trunk of up to 30 centimeters in diameter. The young shoots are green at first, becoming purplish where exposed to sunlight, then grey in their second year. The leaves are 1 cm long and 1.2–4 cm broad, with a serrated margin and a 2.5 cm petiole. The flowers are white or pale pink, 3–5 cm diameter with five petals, produced singly or in pairs before the leaves in early spring. The fruit is a drupe 3.5–6 cm long, with a downy outer coat. The outer covering or exocarp, (fleshy in other members of Prunus such as the plum and cherry), is instead a leathery grey-green coating called the hull, which contains inside a hard shell, and the edible seed, commonly called a nut in culinary terms. Generally, one seed is present, but occasionally there are two. In botanical terms, an almond is not a true nut. The reticulated hard woody shell (like the outside of a peach pit) surrounding the edible seed is called the endocarp. The fruit is mature in the autumn, 7–8 months after flowering.

Almond Tree and Fruit

The almond is native to Iran, from northwestern Saudi Arabia, north through western Jordan, Israel,…

Almonds usually ripen from August to October. The type of almonds that are cultivated commercially are sweet and have soft shells.

Bearing Habit of the Almond

Almonds usually ripen from August to October. The type of almonds that are cultivated commercially are…

"A species of Prunus, P. communis, producing the common almond."-Whitney, 1902

Almond-tree

"A species of Prunus, P. communis, producing the common almond."-Whitney, 1902

The flowers of the common almond are peach like and handsome.

Flower of Common Almond

The flowers of the common almond are peach like and handsome.

" Almonds come from Spain and Italy, but they grow spontaneously in many other warm countries. There are two kinds of almonds, the sweet and the bitter, only differing from each other in the flavor of the nut. Valentia almonds are sweet and large; Italian not either so large or sweet." -Lupton

Almond Tree

" Almonds come from Spain and Italy, but they grow spontaneously in many other warm countries. There…