Prunus persica

Peach, Peach

Family: Rosaceae · Type: tree · Not Native

Peach is a naturalized tree found in southern California coastal areas, Sierra Nevada foothills, and Santa Catalina Island along roadsides, canyons, and chaparral areas at elevations below 1,300 meters. Flowering in March, this tree produces dark pink flowers 10 to 17 millimeters long that emerge before its leaves. Growing 3 to 10 meters tall with a deciduous habit, the tree has an upright, non-thorny structure. Its leaves are oblong to lanceolate, 70 to 150 millimeters long with finely serrated edges and a tapered base. The fruit is a large, velvety peach 40 to 80 millimeters long, ranging from yellow to orange with red tinges and featuring a fleshy, edible pulp.

Habitat: Roadsides, canyons, chaparral as waif

Bloom period: Mar

Elevation: < 1300 m

Bioregions: CaRH, SCo, SnGb

California counties: Los Angeles, Fresno, San Bernardino, Tulare, Orange, Ventura, San Diego, El Dorado, Placer, Butte, Siskiyou, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Yolo, San Luis Obispo, Lake

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.