482 



AMYGDALACE^E. I. AMYCDALUS. 



H. Native of 



I. AMY'GDALUS (from a^vaaw, amysso, to lacerate ; in re- 

 ference to the fissured shell of the putamen). Tourn. inst. t. 402. 

 D. C. fl. fr. 4. p. 486. D. C. prod. 2. p. 530. Amygdalus 

 species, Lin. mss. Amygdalophora, Neck. elem. no. 717. 



LIN. SVST. Icosandrlu, Afonog/jnia. Drupe clothed with vel- 

 vety pubescence (f. 62. c.), having a dry rind, which separates 

 irregularly, containing a pitted or smooth putamen or nut. 

 Trees. Leaves conduplicate when young. Flowers nearly ses- 

 sile, usually pink or rose-coloured, rising either singly or by pairs 

 from the scaly buds earlier than the leaves. Fruit woolly. 



1 . Calyx cylindricatty-camjianulate. 



1 A. ARA'BICA (Oliv. voy. t. 47.) leaves oblong-linear, obtuse, 

 crenated ; petioles short ; fruit ovate-globose, solitary, ending 

 in a short blunt acumen ; putamen ovate. 



Arabia. Fruit the size of a filbert. 

 Arabian Almond. Shrub 2 to 3 feet. 



2 A. NA'NA (Lin. mant. 396.) FIG. 62. 

 leaves oblong-linear, attenuated 



at the base, serrated, quite gla- 

 brous ; flowers solitary and rose- 

 coloured. Fruit the form of those 

 of A. communis, but much smaller. 

 Root creeping. 



Var. a, vu/garis (D. C. prod. 2. 

 p. 530.) calycine lobes ovate, ob- 

 tuse, wrinkled, shorter than the 

 tube ; style thickly clothed with 

 tomentum, exserted. fj . H. Na- 

 tive of Calmuc Tartary, very fre- 

 quent on the banks of the Volga, 

 and about Odessa. A. nana, Pall. 

 ross. p. 12. t. 6. Curt. hot. mag. 

 1. 161. Mill. fig. t. 28. f. 2. Duh. 

 arb. ed. 2. vol. 4. p. 115. t. 30. 



Var. (3, Georgica (D. C. 1. c.) calycine lobes lanceolate, length 

 of the tube ; style inclosed, hardly tomentose at the base. Ij . 

 S. Native of Georgia. A. Georgica, Desf. arbr. 2. p. 221. 



Var. S, campestris (Ser. mss. in D. C. prod. 2. p. 530.) leaves 

 broader ; calycine lobes length of the tube ; petals narrower, 

 longer, and white ; style hardly tomentose at the base, fj . H. 

 Native of the south of Podolia. A. campestris, Besser. enum. 

 p. 46. no. 1425. A. Besseriana, Schott, in cat. hort. vind. 1818. 

 The form of the nut is different from the other varieties accord- 

 ing to Besser. 



Dnarf Almond. Fl. March, April. Clt. 1683. Shrub 2 

 to 3 feet. 



3 A. ORIENTALS (Ait. hort. kew. ed. 1. vol. 1. p. 162. ed. 2. 

 vol. 3. p. 195.) leaves lanceolate, quite entire, almost permanent, 

 clothed with .silvery tomentum, as well as the branches; fruit 

 mucronate. fj . H. Native of the Levant. A. argentea, Lam. 

 diet. 1. p. 103. Duham, arbr. ed. 2. vol. 3. p. 115. Flowers 

 rose-coloured. Hardly larger than A, nana. 



Oriental or Silver-leaved Almond. Fl. March, April. Clt. 

 175C. Shrub 2 to 4 feet. 



4 A. INCA'NA (Pall. ross. 1. p. 13. t. 7. Smith, fl. grsec. t. 

 477.) leaves obovate, serrated, clothed with white tomentum 

 beneath ; flowers solitary ; drupe compressed, pubescent, fj . H. 

 Native of Caucasus, and of the Levant between Smyrna and 

 Bursa. Flowers red. Shrub spinose. 



Hoary Almond. Fl. March, April. Clt. Shrub 2 feet. 



2. Calyx campanulate. 



> 



5 A. COMMU'NTS (Lin. spec. 677.) leaves oblong-lanceolate, 

 serrulated ; flowers solitary ; calyx campanulate ; fruit compres- 



sed, egg-shaped, tomentose. Jj . H. Native of Mauritania, in 

 hedges. Flowers white or rose-coloured. 



Var. a, amara (D. C. fl. fr. 4. p. 486.) style almost the 

 length of the stamens, tomentose below ; seeds bitter. Duham. 

 ed. 2. p. 114. Flowers larger. Petals white, but rose-coloured 

 at the base. There are varieties of this bitter almond, with hard 

 and brittle shells to the nuts. 1 Bitter almond, with a tender 

 shell. 2 Bitter almond, with a hard shell. Amandier amer 

 (French). 



Var. ft, diilcis (D. C. fl. fr. 4. p. 486.) leaves of a greyish 

 green colour ; flowers earlier ; style much exceeding the sta- 

 mens ; fruit ovate, compressed, acuminated ; seeds sweet ; shell 

 of putamen hard. Lam. ill. t. 430. f. 2. Sweet almond, with 

 a hard shell. Amandier a petits fruits, Amandier douce. 



} ar. y,fragilis (D. C. prod. 2. p. 531.) flowers rising with the 

 leaves ; petals broader, deeply emarginate ; leaves shorter ; pe- 

 tioles thick ; fruit acuminated ; putamen with a fragile shell ; 

 seed sweet. A. fragilis, Hell. fl. wirceb. 1. p. 500. Flowers pale 

 rose-coloured. Sweet almond, with a tender shell. Amandier 

 des Dames. Duham, arb. ed. 2. vol. 4. p. 113. Nois. jard. fruct. 

 p. 7. t. 3. f. 2. Commonly called in France Coquc-molle. 



Var. o, macrocarpa (D. C. prod. 2. p. 531.) leaves broader, 

 acuminated, hardly cinereous ; peduncles shorter, turgid ; fruit 

 larger, umbilicate at the base, but acuminated at the apex ; pu- 

 tamen hard. Flowers whitish rose-colour, large, rising before 

 the leaves, with broadly obcordate undulated petals. Sweet 

 almond, with a large fruit. Amandier a gros fruits. Duham. 

 arbr. ed. 2. vol. 4. p. 112. Nois. jard. fruit, p. 7. t. 3. There 

 are two other varieties of this. 1 Sweet-almond, with a smaller 

 fruit and tender shell. Amandier sultane. 2 Sweet-almond, 

 with a smaller fruit. Amandier Pistache. 



Var. c, pcrsicoldes (D. C. 1. c.) leaves almost like those of the 

 peach ; fruit ovate, obtuse, with the sarcocarp hardly succulent ; 

 putamen dark yellow ; seeds sweet. Peach-almond. Amandier 

 pecker. Duham. arb. ed. 2. vol. 4. p. 114. Nois. jard. fruit, p. 

 7. t. 3. f. 1. This variety is supposed by Duhamel to have 

 been produced from the impregnation of the almond by the pollen 

 of the peach. 



Both the bitter and sweet-almond rise above 20 feet in height. 

 The leaves resemble those of the peach, but the lower serratures 

 are glandular, which has given rise to the conjecture that glan- 

 dular leaved peaches have sprung more immediately from 

 the almond than such as are w ithout glands, as is generally the 

 case with nectarines. Their flowers vary in colour from a fine 

 blush to snow white. The chief distinction is in the fruit, which 

 is flatter, with a coriaceous dry covering instead of the rich pulp 

 of the peach and nectarine, opening spontaneously when the 

 kernel is ripe. The tuberes of Pliny, Knight considers as 

 swollen almonds, and the same with the peach-almond, having 

 raised a similar variety from dusting the stigma of an almond with 

 the pollen of a peach, which produced a tolerably good fruit. 

 (Hort. trans. 3. p. 41. t. 1.) It is mentioned by Turner in 

 1548, and though hardly worth cultivating in England as a fruit 

 tree for profit, yet it is a very satisfactory thing to produce 

 almonds of one's own growing at the dessert. The tree forms an 

 important article in the general culture of many parts of France, 

 Italy, and Spain. In a forward spring the blossoms often ap- 

 pear in February, but in this case frost generally destroys them, 

 and they bear little or no fruit, whereas when the trees do not 

 flower till March they seldom fail to produce fruit in abundance. 



Use. The kernel of the nut is the only part used, which is 

 tender and of a fine flavour. The sweet almonds and other 

 varieties are brought to the dessert in a green or imperfectly ripe 

 and also in a ripe state. They are also much used in cookery, 

 confectionery, perfumery, and medicine. Sweet almonds used 

 as food, Professor Martin observes, are difficult of digestion, 



