Prunus persica

The peach tree is in the almond/peach or Amygdalus subgenus of the rose or Rosacaceae family and is native to northeast China, with peaches and nectarines being the same species. It is closely related to the almond tree (Prunus dulcis). It can reach up to 5 m in height.

58% of the world's peaches and nectarines are produced in China, while Spain is the world's largest exporter.

• Leaves are alternate, simple, lanceolate, serrated, 7–16 cm long and 2–3 cm broad, pinnately veined, often curved along the midrib.
• Flowers are solitary or paired, 2.5–3.0 cm in diameter, pink with 5 petals and appearing in early spring.
• Fruit is a drupe, with yellow flesh (favored in Europe and North America) or whitish flesh (favored in China); skin is either velvety (peaches) or smooth (nectarines), with a single large, red brown, oval shaped seed 1.3-2.0 cm long; ripening is mid-summer. The peach is a stone fruit along with cherries, plums and apricots.
• Cultivars are clingstones or freestones depending on whether or not the flesh sticks to the stone or not.