Differences Between Plums, Cherries, Apricots, Peaches, and Japanese Plums
Plums, cherries, apricots, peaches, and Japanese plums are all among the common fruits in people's daily lives, and they all belong to the Rosaceae family. They do indeed share many similarities in appearance and form, so much so that many friends cannot tell them apart well. Let's take a look below at what differences they actually have!
Plum
The plum is the fruit borne by the plum tree. It is cultivated throughout China, with the most in the provinces south of the Yangtze River basin. It is a small tree of the genus Prunus in the Rosaceae family, also called green plum, sour plum, etc. The tree is 4-10 m tall. The flowers are solitary or sometimes 2 born together in one bud. The fruit is nearly spherical, 2-3 cm in diameter, yellow or greenish-white, covered with soft hairs, and sour in taste. The stone is elliptical. The flowering period is winter and spring, and the fruiting period is May to June.
Cherry
Cherry, also known by aliases such as chelizi, yingtao, jingtao, xietao, yingtao, niutao, yingzhu, hantao, agate, yingzhu, etc., is a tree of the genus Prunus in the Rosaceae family. The tree is 2-6 m tall, and the bark is grayish-white. The inflorescence is corymbose or nearly umbellate, with 3-6 flowers, opening before the leaves. The drupe is nearly spherical, red, 0.9-1.3 cm in diameter. The flowering period is March to April, and the fruiting period is May to June.
Apricot
The apricot is a deciduous tree of the genus Prunus in the Rosaceae family. It is cultivated in many places across China. The tree is 5-8 m tall, and the bark is grayish-brown. The leaves are broadly ovate or roundly ovate, 5-9 cm long and 4-8 cm wide. The flowers are solitary, 2-3 cm in diameter, opening before the leaves. The fruit is spherical, rarely obovate, about 2.5 cm or more in diameter. The stone is ovate or elliptical, flattened on both sides, with a rounded and blunt apex. The flowering period is March to April, and the fruiting period is June to July.
Peach
The peach is a deciduous small tree of the genus Prunus in the Rosaceae family, native to China. The tree is 3-8 m tall, with a broad and spreading crown. The bark is dark reddish-brown, rough and scaly when old. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, elliptic-lanceolate, or obovate-lanceolate. The flowers are solitary, opening before the leaves, 2.5-3.5 cm in diameter. The fruit varies in shape and size, being ovate, broadly elliptical, or flattened-round. The stone is large, free or clinging, elliptical or nearly round. The flowering period is March to April, and the fruiting period is August to September.
Japanese Plum
The Japanese plum, also known by aliases such as jiaqingzi, bulin, lizi, yuhuangli, shanlizi, etc., is a deciduous tree of the genus Prunus in the Rosaceae family. It is widely cultivated around the world and is one of people's favorite fruits. The tree is 9-12 m tall. The leaves are oblong-obovate or long elliptical. The flowers are usually in clusters of 3. The drupe is spherical, ovoid, or nearly conical. The stone is ovoid or oblong, with wrinkles. The flowering period is April, and the fruiting period is July to August.