Prunus mira, the smooth stone peach, smooth-pit peach or Tibetan peach, and locally called behmi, behimi or tirul, is a species of Prunus native to the foothills of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau, at elevations typically between 2600 and 3000 m, but ranging from 2000 to 4000 m.

Prunus mira
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Species:
P. mira
Binomial name
Prunus mira
Synonyms
  • Amygdalus mira K.Koch
  • Amygdalus mira (Koehne) T.T.Yu & L.T.Lu
  • Amygdalus mira (Koehne) Ricker
  • Persica mira (Koehne) Kov. & Kost.

Description

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Prunus mira grows to 8-12 m tall and the trunks 16 cm in diameter (DBH). The leaves are lanceolate, 5–10 cm long and 1.2–4 cm wide. The flowers are pinkish white. The 2-by-3 cm ovoid fruit has white flesh. As the common name suggests, the stone is smooth.[1]

Uses

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The trees are cultivated in some parts of their native range, for their fruit (which is often pickled), their seeds (as a substitute for almonds), and for their seed oil, which is used for cooking and hair oil.[2] The rootstocks are used for almonds and for dwarfing peach trees, and are resistant to powdery mildew.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Bao, Wenquan; Wuyun, Tana; Li, Tiezhu; Liu, Huimin; Jiang, Zhongmao; Zhu, Xuchun; Du, Hongyan; Bai, Yu-e (29 November 2017). "Genetic diversity and population structure of Prunus mira (Koehne) from the Tibet plateau in China and recommended conservation strategies". PLOS ONE. 12 (11): e0188685. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1288685B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0188685. PMC 5706700. PMID 29186199.
  2. ^ Espiau Ramírez, María Teresa; Socias i Company, Rafel; Alonso Segura, José Manuel; Rubio Cabetas, María José (2013). "Collection of Prunus mira (wild peach) in the Himalayan region of India". European Plant Genetic Resources Conference 2013, Alnarp, Sweden, 10 to 13 June 2013. hdl:10532/2308.
  3. ^ Layne, Desmond R.; Bassi, Daniele (2008). Peach : Botany, Production and Uses. p. 194. ISBN 9781845934231.[page needed]
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