Almond

The almond belongs to the same genus as the apricot, cherry, etc., but it differs from them in having a leathery fruit, which can only be eaten when immature, and a comparatively large stone and kernel. Its ancestors are thought to be several wild trees of W. and C. Asia, whose small, dry fruits produce bitter kernels. The tree fruits only in warm temperate climates, tolerating neither spring frosts nor tropical humidity. Thus, when it spread from its region of origin, this was along a restricted band of W. Asia to the W. Mediterranean.