Apricot blossoms in the Himalaya, in Mussoorie

From the archive record

Beautiful apricot blossoms in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. April 2014. An apricot is a fruit or the tree that bears the fruit. Usually, an apricot tree is from the tree species Prunus armeniaca, but the species Prunus brigantina, Prunus mandshurica, Prunus mume, and Prunus sibirica are closely related, have similar fruit, and are also called apricots. The apricot is a small tree, 8--12 m (26--39 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm (16 in) in diameter and a dense, spreading canopy. The leaves are ovate, 5--9 cm (2.0--3.5 in) long and 4--8 cm (1.6--3.1 in) wide, with a rounded base, a pointed tip and a finely serrated margin. The flowers are 2--4.5 cm (0.8--1.8 in) in diameter, with five white to pinkish petals; they are produced singly or in pairs in early spring before the leaves. The fruit is a