Prunus brigantina

Prunus brigantina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Amygdaloideae
Genus: Prunus
Species: P. brigantina
Binomial name
Prunus brigantina
Vill. 1786
Synonyms[1]
  • Armeniaca brigantiaca (Vill.) Pers. 1806
  • Prunus brigantiaca Vill. 1789
  • Prunus chamaecerasus Jacq. 1786

Prunus brigantina, called Briançon apricot, marmot plum, and alpine apricot,[2] is a wild tree species native to France and Italy.[3][4] It is the only apricot-like Prunus species native to Europe.[5]

The fruit is similar to the commercial apricot Prunus armeniaca, and is edible. An edible oil produced from the seed, 'huile des marmottes', is used in France.[6]

Description

Illustration by Pancrace Bessa, from Nouveau Duhamel, ou traité des arbres et arbustes que l'on cultive en France by Duhamel, 1812

Unlike the other closely related species known as apricots, the fruit is smooth rather than hairy.

Taxonomy

Prunus brigantina is considered a member of the apricot group, along with P. armeniaca, P. mandshurica, P. mume, and P. sibirica,[5] but its genetic relationships to other Prunus species are not yet clear, as an initial molecular phylogeny found that various DNA sequences gave ambiguous indications, and it did not appear to belong in a clade with Prunus armeniaca.[5]

References

  1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  2. "USDA GRIN Taxonomy". Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  3. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, version 2013.2". Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  4. Altervista Flora Italiana, Prunus brigantina Vill. includes photos and European distribution map
  5. 1 2 3 Bortiri, E.; Oh, S.-H.; Jiang, J.; Baggett, S.; Granger, A.; Weeks, C.; Buckingham, M.; Potter, D.; Parfitt, D.E. (2001). "Phylogeny and systematics of Prunus (Rosaceae) as determined by sequence analysis of ITS and the chloroplast trnL-trnF spacer DNA". Systematic Botany. 26 (4): 797–807. JSTOR 3093861.
  6. "Plants for a Future". Retrieved 21 January 2014.
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