ROSE FAMILY
Amygdalus communis (Badem, Bayam, Payam)
(Mandel)
Rosaceae
Unarmed trees up to 8 m. Leaves alternate, ovate-lanceolate or elliptic, up to 9 x 3 cm; petioles 10-30 mm. Sepals free, 4-5. Petals free, white or pink, up to 4 cm diameter. Fruit an obliquely ellipsoid to elongate-ellipsoid drupe, compressed, up to 50 x 30 mm, olive-green. Young fruit and seed edible. Fl. March-April. Native and naturalized; dry slopes, calcareous gorges, in scrub and Quercus forest; widely cultivated.
Native of S.W. &.C. Asia (and N. Africa).
