How do you recognise Peach (Prunus persica)?

Leaf

SABENCIA Bertu Ordiales, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Peach

Prunus persica (L.) Batsch

Family: Rosaceae

4 to 6 m tall

Orchards and gardens; grown throughout temperate Europe

Flowering: March – April, before the leaves

Full sun

Hardy to about -20°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

The peach flowers even before its leaves appear, from the end of winter — one of the earliest flowerings among fruit trees. In spring, their very similar pink flowers open before the leaves. Difference: almond flowers have longer, paler petals, and almond generally flowers a little earlier.

🍃 Leaves

Lanceolate, long-pointed, finely toothed, glossy green

🌸 Flowers

Pink, single, with 5 petals, appearing before the leaves

🍎 Fruits

Fleshy, downy drupe (peach), with a furrowed stone

🪵 Bark

Reddish-brown, smooth then cracking with age

🗺️ Distribution

Native to China; grown worldwide in temperate zones, very common in France

🐝 Value for pollinators

Very early flowering, among the first sources of nectar and pollen for bees at the end of winter

✂️ Horticultural uses

Orchard or espalier fruit tree; many varieties (peaches, nectarines)

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Flesh of the fruit edible; the stone, leaves and bark contain amygdalin (a cyanide precursor), toxic in large quantities

⚠️ Look-alike species

Peach

Prunus persica

Almond

Prunus dulcis

In spring, their very similar pink flowers open before the leaves. Difference: almond flowers have longer, paler petals, and almond generally flowers a little earlier.

Peach

Prunus persica

Apricot

Prunus armeniaca

Before the leaves appear, these two early-flowering Prunus are hard to tell apart. Peach flowers in March – April with pink flowers borne on a short green pedicel, whereas apricot generally flowers earlier (from February) with white, barely pinkish flowers borne almost stalkless against the wood.

🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.