Prunus persica
peach [Blooms: Apr-May]
Peach (Prunus persica) flowers and fruit. Bottom right: a peach flower face-on in late April. Note the five pink petals with narrowed bases and numerous stamens with orange anthers. Top right: lateral view of a peach flower. Note the burgundy-colored calyx formed by the fusion of the bases of the five sepals. Top left: three-quarters close-up of the center of a peach flower. The green style with an orange stigma (black arrow) is often difficult to see among the numerous stamens. Bottom left: two immature peach fruits in late June. Note the characteristic peach color and fuzzy surface.
Peach flowers arise along young branches, blooming beginning before the leaves have opened in the spring; the flowers are usually solitary but occasionally occur in pairs. Individual flowers are 1-1.5″ long consisting of a burgundy-colored calyx with five rounded apical lobes (sepals); five spreading pink (rarely, white) petals, oval with abruptly narrowed bases (“clawed”); 15-30 stamens with pink filaments and yellow to orange anthers; and a pistil with a single light green style nearly as long as the stamens. Fertilized flowers are replaced by green, fuzzy ovoids, eventually up to 3″ long and across and containing a single seed; peach-colored when mature.
Peach (Prunus persica) stems and leaves. Left: several peach branches and a trunk covered with typical elongate leaves folded around the leaf midline. Right: a single peach leaf showing the upper surface of the leaf (top image) and the underside of the same leaf (lower image).
Peach is an exotic tree from Asia, introduced first to Europe, then to North America (in the 16th century by Spanish colonizers). Peach trees were grown in Virginia by 1629. Feral peach trees (from discarded pits) are widespread, although the tree is short lived (15-25 years) so wild populations are rarely established. A peach tree is relatively small (10-30 feet tall) with a 6-8″ diameter trunk and a broad crown. The trunk bark is gray with horizontal lenticels, growing rougher with age; larger branches are similar. New shoots put out from the tips of the branches are light green and usually hairless. The leaves are alternate, restricted to the new shoots and branches, 2-6″ long and 1/2-1.5″ across, a combination of lance-shaped and elliptical with serrated margins, drooping down from their petioles and often folded longitudinally around the midvein.
The same peach tree (Prunus persica) on Wooded Island in bloom in late April (left) and showing significant growth, a profusion of leaves, and immature fruits (arrows) in late June of the same year.
Peach is an exotic tree from Asia, introduced first to Europe, then to North America (in the 16th century by Spanish colonizers). Peach trees were grown in Virginia by 1629. Feral peach trees (from discarded pits) are widespread, although the tree is short lived (15-25 years) so wild populations are rarely established. A peach tree is relatively small (10-30 feet tall) with a 6-8″ diameter trunk and a broad crown. The trunk bark is gray with horizontal lenticels, growing rougher with age; larger branches are similar. New shoots put out from the tips of the branches are light green and usually hairless. The leaves are alternate, restricted to the new shoots and branches, 2-6″ long and 1/2-1.5″ across, a combination of lance-shaped and elliptical with serrated margins, drooping down from their petioles and often folded longitudinally around the midvein. Flowers arise along young branches, blooming beginning before the leaves have opened in the spring; the flowers are usually solitary but occasionally occur in pairs. Individual flowers are 1-1.5″ long consisting of a burgundy-colored calyx with five rounded apical lobes (sepals); five spreading pink (rarely, white) petals, oval with abruptly narrowed bases (“clawed”); 15-30 stamens with pink filaments and yellow to orange anthers; and a pistil with a single light green style nearly as long as the stamens. Fertilized flowers are replaced by green, fuzzy ovoids, eventually up to 3″ long and across and containing a single seed; peach-colored when mature.
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![Evening primrose — clusters of yellow flowers occur at the apex of the plant. The flowers are 1-2" across, with four 1/2-1" long green sepals strongly reflected over a long (3/4-2"), green, cylindrical floral tube (the ovary is located just above the leaf axil), four heart-shaped yellow petals, eight stamens, and a single style with an X-shaped stigma. The sepals typically remain connected (in pairs) along one edge until the flower opens. The seedpods develop within the ovary (the base of the elongate floral tube); they are hairy, urn-shaped with rounded edges, and have four or eight small lobes on the apex. The seeds are claimed to remain viable in the soil for up to 70 years. The flowers open at dusk and close early in the day. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_biennis-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Northern evening primrose flowers are 3/4-1.5" across, have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; the stamens are as long or longer than the petals and the stigma is nearly fills the floral opening. At the base of the flower are four sepals 1/2-1" long, that bend back along the 3/4-1.5" long floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. Only northern evening primrose with a distinct ridge or knob near the tips of the sepals. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is 3/4-1.5" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four robust, flaring lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals and is the only one of the three evening primroses to (sometimes) have reddish color on some or all of the midvein of the leaves. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_parviflora-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Hairy evening primrose produves an elongating spike of flowers arises from the apex of the stem; flowers bloom near the tip while older flowers and seed capsules develop below. Individual flowers are 3/4-1.5" across; they sit on a long floral tube with the ovary at its base (attached to a leaf axil). The flowers have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; at the base of the flower are four sepals 3/8-3/4" long, reflected back along the floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. The sepals are often red-striped or red-tinged. Note the long, hairy floral tube below the sepals, the reddish stem, and glandular hairs with red bases on the ovary. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is up to 1.75" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four tiny lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_villosa-1t-300x300.jpg)
