apricot

 

[Arabic from Lat.,=early ripe], tree, Prunus armeniaca, and its fruit, of the plum genus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), native to temperate Asia and long cultivated in Armenia. The fruit is used raw, canned, preserved, and dried. California is the chief place of cultivation in the United States, although by selecting suitable varieties the apricot can be grown in most regions where the peach is hardy. Apricots are used in the making of a cordial and also for apricot brandy. A number of apricot-plum hybrids, such as the plumcot, Pluot, and Aprium, have been developed. Apricots are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Rosaceae.

Apricot
Apricot fruits
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Genus: Prunus Subgenus: Prunus Section: Armeniaca Species: P. armeniaca
Binomial name
Prunus armeniaca L.

Apricots, raw Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 50 kcal   200 kJ
Carbohydrates     11 g - Sugars  9 g - Dietary fiber  2 g   Fat 0.4 g Protein 1.4 g Vitamin A equiv.  96 μg  11% - β-carotene  1094 μg  10% Vitamin C  10 mg 17% Iron  0.4 mg 3%
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient database

Apricots, dried Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 240 kcal   1010 kJ
Carbohydrates     63 g - Sugars  53 g - Dietary fiber  7 g   Fat 0.5 g Protein 3.4 g Vitamin A equiv.  180 μg  20% - β-carotene  2163 μg  20% Vitamin C  1 mg 2% Iron  2.7 mg 22%
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient database

The apricot or common apricot tree (Prunus armeniaca or Armenian plum in Latin, syn. Armeniaca vulgaris, Armenian: Ծիրան, Chinese: 杏子, Czech: Meruňka) is a fruit-bearing tree, whose native range is somewhat ambiguous, due to the prehistoric antiquity of its cultivars. The GRIN database gives only Kyrgyzstan and China with the cryptic comment: "widely cultivated, exact native range obscure."^[1] Loudon earlier was rather more sanguine: "It is a native of Armenia, Caucasus, the Himalayas, China and Japan, where it forms a large spreading tree."^[2] Nearly all sources presume that because it is named armeniaca, the tree must be native to or have originated in Armenia as the Romans knew it. For example, De Poerderlé asserts: "Cet arbre tire son name de l'Arménie, province d'Asie, d'où il est originaire et d'où il fut porté en Europe ...." (this tree takes its name from Armenia, province of Asia, where it is native, and whence it was brought to Europe ....)^[3] This presumption is an heirloom. There is little evidence to support such a view (see under Taxonomy below). Today the cultivars have sperad to all quarters of the globe with environments that support it. It is classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus of the Prunus genus.

Description

It is a small- to medium-sized tree with a dense, spreading canopy 8–12 m tall; its leaves are shaped somewhat like a heart, with pointed tips, and about 8 cm long and 3–4 cm wide. Its flowers are white to pinkish in color. The fruit appears similar to a peach or nectarine, with a color ranging from yellow to orange and sometimes a red cast; its surface is smooth and nearly hairless. Apricots are stone fruit (drupes), so called because the lone seed is often called a "stone".

Taxonomy

Linnaeus was the first to name the tree authoritatively in the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753.^[4] For the armeniaca he cites Gaspard Bauhin, Pinax Theatri Botanici (page 442), which refers to the species as mala armeniaca. This is the first known use of this specific epithet, which before Linnaeus was the name used by all the authors. Most believed and many still believe that it came from Pliny the Elder; however, it is not used by Pliny or any other classical author, even in Late Latin.

The epithet probably is derived from an etymological identification of a tree mentioned in Pliny with the apricot. Pliny says "We give the name of apples (mala) ... to peaches (persica) and pomegranites (granata) ...."^[5] Later in the same section he states "The Asiatic peach ripens at the end of autumn, though an early variety (praecocia) ripens in summer - these were discovered within the last thirty years ...."

From this praecocia comes the standard etymology of "apricot." The classical authors connected armeniaca with praecocia:^[6] Pedanius Dioscorides' "... Ἀρμενιακὰ, Ῥωμαιστὶ δὲ βρεκόκκια"^[7] and Martial's "Armeniaca, et praecocia latine dicuntur."^[8] Putting together the Armeniaca and the mala obtains the well-known epithet, but there is no evidence the ancients did it; Armeniaca alone meant the apricot.

Accordingly the American Heritage Dictionary under apricot derives praecocia from praecoquus, "cooked or ripened beforehand", becoming Greek πραικόκιον "apricot" and Arabic al-barqūq "the plum". The English name comes from earlier "abrecock" in turn from the Middle French abricot, from Catalan abercoc.^[9] Both the latter and Spanish albaricoque were adaptations of the Arabic, dating from the Moorish occupation of Spain. However, in Argentina and Chile the word for "apricot" is "damasco" which probably indicates that to the Spanish settlers of Argentina the fruit was associated with Damascus in Syria.^[10]

The anecdotal evidence is the only link between the apricot and Pliny's tree, but even if true, the origin of the word is not the origin of the tree. The Romans had no idea why the tree was called armeniaca and presumed as did later botanists that it was "from Armenia", whatever that should mean. Scientifically nothing at all about the evolution or production of the wild tree or any of its cultivars or about the native range at the time of the Romans or any other time in history is implied. At best the tradition reflects Roman literary opinion concerning some now obscure horticultural events.

Cultivation

The apricot is thought to have originated in northeastern China near the Russian border. In Armenia it was known from ancient times, and is native to Armenia.^[11][12] The Roman General Lucullus (106-57 B.C.E.) even exported some trees,- cherry, white heart cherry and apricot from Armenia to Europe. While English settlers brought the apricot to the English colonies in the New World, most of modern American production of apricots comes from the seedlings carried to the west coast by Spanish missionaries. Almost all U.S. production is in California, with some in Washington and Utah.^[13]. Turkey is one of the leading dried-apricot producers.^[14] In Armenia apricot is grown in Ararat Valley.

Apricots have been cultivated in Persia since antiquity & dried ones were an important commodity on Persian trade routes. Apricots remain an important fruit in modern-day Iran where they are known under the common name of Zard-ālū (Persian زردالو). Iran is the second biggest producer of Apricots.

Although often thought of as a "subtropical" fruit, the Apricot is in fact native to a region with cold winters. The tree is slightly more cold-hardy than the peach, tolerating winter temperatures as cold as −30 °C or lower if healthy. The limiting factor in apricot culture is spring frosts: They tend to flower very early, around the time of the vernal equinox even in northern locations like the Great Lakes region, meaning spring frost often kills the flowers. The trees do need some winter cold (even if minimal) to bear and grow properly and do well in Mediterranean climate locations since spring frosts are less severe here but there is some cool winter weather to allow a proper dormancy. The dry climate of these areas is best for good fruit production. Hybridisation with the closely related Prunus sibirica (Siberian Apricot; hardy to −50°C but with less palatable fruit) offers options for breeding more cold-tolerant plants.^[15]

Apricot cultivars are most often grafted on plum or peach rootstocks. A cutting of an existing apricot plant provides the fruit characteristics such as flavor, size, etc., but the rootstock provides the growth characteristics of the plant.

Many apricots are also cultivated in Australia, particularly South Australia where they are commonly grown in the region known as the Riverland and in a small town called Mypolonga in the Lower Murray region of the state. In states other than South Australia apricots are still grown, particularly in Tasmania and western Victoria and southwest New South Wales, but they are less common than in South Australia.

Apricots are also cultivated in Egypt and are among the common fruits well known there. The season in which apricot is present in the market in Egypt is very short. There is even an Egyptian proverb that says "Fel meshmesh" (English "in the apricot") which is used to refer to something that will not happen because the apricot disappears from the market in Egypt so shortly after it has appeared. Egyptians usually dry apricot and sweeten it then use it to make a drink called "amar el deen".

Kernels

Main article: Apricot kernel

Seeds or kernels of the apricot grown in central Asia and around the Mediterranean are so sweet that they may be substituted for almonds. The Italian liqueur Amaretto and amaretti biscotti are flavoured with extract of apricot kernels rather than almonds. Oil pressed from these cultivars has been used as cooking oil.

Production trends

Top Ten Apricot Producers — 2005 (1000 tonnes)
Turkey	390
Iran	285
Italy	232
Pakistan	220
France	181
Algeria	145
Spain	136
Japan	123
Morocco	103
Syria	101
World Total	1916
Source: UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) [2]

Medicinal and non-food uses

Cyanogenic glycosides (found in most stone fruit seeds, bark, and leaves) are found in high concentration in apricot seeds. Laetrile, a purported alternative treatment for cancer, is extracted from apricot seeds. As early as the year 502, apricot seeds were used to treat tumors, and in the 17th century apricot oil was used in England against tumors and ulcers. However, in 1980 the National Cancer Institute in the USA claimed laetrile to be an ineffective cancer treatment.^[16]

In Europe, apricots were long considered an aphrodisiac, and were used in this context in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and as an inducer of childbirth labor, as depicted in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi.

The IUD (intrauterine device) form of birth control, based on the premise that a foreign object within the uterus will prevent the implantation of an embryo, is linked to an old practice of camel herders and drivers who would place an apricot pit within the uterus of their female camels to prevent pregenancy and keep them working at carrying cargo rather than the work of mothering.^{[citation needed]}

Dried apricots can also be used as a potent laxative.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

See also

{{en:wiktionary|apricot}}

• List of apricot diseases
• Apricot kernel
• Pluot
• Ume
• Amygdalin

External links

• Bitter Apricot Seed — information on medicinal uses of apricot seeds
• The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction at Project Gutenberg
• About Malatya's Apricot — Natural panacea of worldwıde renown : The Malatya Aprıcot / The Capıtal Of Aprıcot Malatyapdc:Abrigoshsb:Aprikozowc

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