PRUNUS FASCICULATA
PRUNUS FASCICULATA Family
Rosaceae
PRUNUS FASCICULATA English Name
Wild Almond
PRUNUS FASCICULATA Local Name
Jungli Akhroot
PRUNUS FASCICULATA Description
This plant is a spiny and woody shrub that grows up to 2 to 2.5 m high. The bark of the plant is grey. The branches are smooth and grey. The leaves are 5 to 20 mm long. The flowers are small and white with 3 mm. Petals occur either solitary or in fascicle. Flowers are usually bisexual, solitary or in racemes, sometimes precocious. Male flowers have 10 to 15 stamens; female flowers have one or more pistils. The drupe is about 1 cm long; gray to red-brown in color and hairy with thin flesh.
PRUNUS FASCICULATA Distribution
It is native to the deserts of Arizona, California, Baja California, Nevada and Utah. It is distributed in the areas that usually below 2,100 m elevation as it prefers sandy or rocky soil on dry slopes and washes. I was also introduced in Indian subcontinent including Pakistan and India.
PRUNUS FASCICULATA Uses
The plant is not edible. It has very limited range uses. It has traditional ways of using it: the Cahuilla prepared the drupe as a delicacy. The wild almonds were considered a delicacy by Native Americans. The Kawaiisu found the tough twigs useful as drills in starting fires and as the front portion of arrow shafts.
(Wiesenborn, 2015)
