General Information
The Apricot (Prunus armeniaca, syn. Armeniaca vulgaris) is a fruit-bearing tree native to China. It is related to the Plum, and classified with it in the subgenus Prunus of the genus Prunus.
In Europe, apricots were long considered an aphrodisiac, and is used in this context in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and as an inducer of labour, used in John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi for this purpose. Dreaming of apricots, in English folklore, is said to be good luck, though the Chinese believe the fruit is a symbol of cowardice.
History
Apricots originally hailed from China. Cuttings of this golden fruit made their way across the Persian Empire to the Mediterranean where they flourished. The Spanish explorers get credit for introducing the apricot to the New World, and specifically to California, where they were planted in the gardens of Spanish missions. In 1792, in an area south of San Francisco, the first major production of apricots was recorded.
