xxvi. ROS^CEJE : ^UMENI'ACA. 267 



t 2. P. (v.) L.E'VIS Dec. The smooth-skinned Peach, or Nectarine Tree. 



Identification. Dec. Fl. Fr., 4. p. 487. ; Don's Miller, 2. p. 493. 



Synoni/mes. y4mygdalus Persiea Lam. Diet. ; A. Persica Nectarina Ait. Hort. Kew. ; Peche lisse, 



Brugnon, Fr. ; Pesco noce, Ital. 

 Engravings. Nois. Jard. Fruit, t. 20. f. 2, 3. t. 21. f. 3, 4. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Fruit smooth. A deciduous tree. Persia. Height 15 ft. 

 to 20 ft. Cultivated in 1562, or probably long before. Flowers rose- 

 coloured ; March and April. Fruit red and yellow; ripe in September. 



Varieties. 



t P. (v} 1. 1, the freestone Nectarine (with the fruit parting from the nut). 



Peche lisse, Fr. The Elruge is the best variety. 

 * P. (v.) /. 2, the clingstone Nectarine (with the flesh adhering to the nut). 



Brugnon, Fr. The Orange is the best variety. 



The different varieties of peach and nectarine, when treated as standard 

 trees in the open garden, assume the general form and character of the 

 almond ; but, as they are more delicate, in consequence of being farther re- 

 moved from their aboriginal state, they are of slower growth, form trees of less 

 size, and are of shorter duration. The nectarine, as a standard in the open 

 garden, forms a smaller and more delicate tree than the peach ; and the double- 

 flowered peach is of less vigorous growth than most of the single-flowered 

 varieties, but very ornamental. 



GENUS III. 



^RMENTACA Tourn. THE APRICOT. Lin. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia. 



Identification. Tourn. Inst., t. 399. ; Juss. Gen., 341. ; Dec. Fl. Fr., 4. p. 485., Prod. 2. p. 531. ; 



Don's Mill., 2. p. 495. 

 Synonymes. Primus sp. of Lin. and others ; Abricotier, Fr. ; Aprikosenbaum, Ger. ; Albicocco, 



Derivation. The genus is named Jrmenlaca, from the apricot being originally from Armenia. The 

 popular English- name was originally praecocia, from the Arabic, berkoche ; whence the Tuscan 

 bacoche, or albicocco ; and the English, abricot, or apricock, eventually corrupted into apricot. 

 Some persons derive the name from prtecox, from this fruit ripening sooner than most others. 



Gen. Char. Drupe ovate globose, fleshy, covered with a velvety skin, con- 

 taining a nut or stone, which is acute at one end, and blunt at the other, 

 with a furrow on both sides ; the rest smooth, not wrinkled. (Don's Mill.) 

 Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous ; when young, convolute. 

 Flowers almost sessile, solitary, or few together, rising before the leaves from 

 scaly buds. Trees, low, deciduous, or shrubs; natives of Europe and Asia. 



The common apricot is a fruit tree in general cultivation throughout the 

 temperate regions of the globe, distinguished at first sight from the almond, 

 peach, and nectarine, by its heart-shaped, smooth, shining leaves, and white 

 flowers. There are several wild varieties, bearing flowers of different shades of 

 pink, chiefly cultivated as ornamental. The great beauty of both the wild and 

 the cultivated sorts of apricot is, that they come into bloom in Britain before 

 almost every other tree; the Siberian apricot flowering a fortnight, or more, 

 before the common sloe or almond. 



* 1. A. VULGA N RIS Lam. The common Apricot Tree. 



Identification. Lam. Diet., 1. p. 2. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 532. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 495. 



St/nonyme. Primus ^rmenlaca Lin. Sp. 079. ; Albicocco americano, Ital. 



Engravings. N. Du Ham., 1. t. 49. ; the plate in Arb. Brit., 1st edit,, vol. v. ; and our fig. 431. 



Spec. Char., $c. Flowers sessile. Leaves heart-shaped or ovate. (Dec. 

 Prod.) A middle-sized tree. Armenia, Caucasus, the Himalayas, China, 

 &c. Height 20 ft. to 30 ft. Cultivated in 1548. Flowers pinkish white ; 

 February and March. Drupe orange and red ; ripe in August and Sept. 

 Decaying leaves reddish yellow. Naked young wood smooth, purplish. 



