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Peach : History
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Published 2014
Wild peach trees still grow in China, the original home of the peach. Like their cultivated descendants, they are medium-sized trees, with handsome, pointed leaves; but their fruits are small, sour, and very fuzzy. Well before the 10th century BC (some authorities suggest very much earlier) improved varieties were being cultivated.
Peaches are easily raised from seed, and cultivation spread westwards through areas with a suitable climate, such as Kashmir, to Persia. It flourished there so well that it came to be regarded as a native Persian fruit; hence the specific name persica.