Prunus

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Prunus \Pru"nus\, n. [L., a plum tree.] (Bot.)
     A genus of trees with perigynous rosaceous flowers, and a
     single two-ovuled carpel which usually becomes a drupe in
     ripening.
     [1913 Webster]
  


     Note: Originally, this genus was limited to the plums, then,
           by Linn[ae]us, was made to include the cherries and the
           apricot. Later botanists separated these into several
           genera, as {Prunus}, {Cerasus}, and {Armeniaca}, but
           now, by Bentham and Hooker, the plums, cherries, cherry
           laurels, peach, almond, and nectarine are all placed in
           {Prunus}.
           [1913 Webster] Prurience

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Prunus
       n : a genus of shrubs and trees of the family Rosaceae that is
           widely distributed in temperate regions [syn: {genus
           Prunus}]