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Glite Dictionary
Prunus amygdalus

Prunus amygdalus

8.9
A small tree that loses its leaves and has pink flowers and edible almonds
  • noun
  • /ˈpruːnəs əˈmɪɡdələs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Prunus amygdalus
  • The Prunus amygdalus is famous for its beautiful spring blossoms and abundant almond harvest.

Examples

  • Farmers in California widely cultivate Prunus amygdalus for commercial almond production.

  • The Prunus amygdalus tree produces delicious almonds.

  • Botanists studied the drought resistance of Prunus amygdalus in Mediterranean climates.

  • I planted a Prunus amygdalus in my backyard.

  • Farmers in California widely cultivate Prunus amygdalus for commercial almond production.

  • The Prunus amygdalus is famous for its beautiful spring blossoms and abundant almond harvest.

  • The Prunus amygdalus tree produces delicious almonds.

Synonyms

almond
vsPrunus amygdalus
12 1.6

A small tree with pink flowers that produces edible seeds

describes the tree and nuts more generally without hull detail
sweet almond
vsPrunus amygdalus
1 4.4

A small tree that makes edible nuts with a hard shell and pink flowers

focuses on nuts generally without stressing shell structure
Amygdalus communis
vsPrunus amygdalus
  • Archaic
9.4

A small tree with pink flowers that produces edible almonds

is the same meaning but uses an alternative scientific name
Prunus dulcis
vsPrunus amygdalus
  • Specialized
8.4

A small tree with pink spring flowers that makes almonds you can eat

is the same meaning but written under a different scientific label
almendro
vsPrunus amygdalus
  • US
9.9

A tree that grows almonds and has white or pink spring flowers

states native origin rather than focus on where it is grown now

Surface Forms

Prunus amygdalus singular
Prunus amygdaluses plural

Morphology

Prunus + Amygdalus

This is a Latin binomial composed of two taxonomic names, so a learner who knows the constituents would recognize it as the name of a genus/species of tree and infer a botanical reference. However, the specific common referent (that it is the almond tree and produces almonds) is specialized knowledge not directly derivable from the literal genus labels, so full meaning is not immediately predictable.

Etymology

Prunus amygdalus is the scientific name for the almond tree: Prunus links it to plums and cherries and amygdalus comes from an old Greek word for the 'almond'. The name gives a clear picture of a small tree with pink blossoms and hard, edible nuts, so it refers to the tree grown for 'almond' nuts and flowers.