Prunus and Pliny uses "prūnus silvestris" to mean the blackthorn. The word is not native Latin, but is a loan from Greek προῦνον ("prounon"), which is a variant of προῦμνον ("proumnon"), origin unknown. The tree is προύμνη ("proumnē"). Most dictionaries follow Hoffman, "Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Griechischen", in making some form of the word a loan from a pre-Greek language of Asia Minor, related to Phrygian. The first use of "Prunus" as a genus name was by Carl Linnaeus in "Hortus Cliffortianus" of 1737, which went on to become "Species Plantarum". In that work, Linnaeus attributes the word to "Varr.", who it
Prunus persica × Prunus americana tree is included in the Purdue University book "Fruit Breeding", Volume 1. The hybrid at Broadus, Montana has never fruited as the flowerbuds have all winterkilled. The hybrid has bloomed in Pennsylvania and the blooms are sterile. As of 2013, the hybrid near Broadus is still alive. Prunus persica × Prunus americana Prunus persica" × "Prunus americana is the hybrid between the peach "Prunus persica" (often a nectarine) and the wild American plum "Prunus americana". Hybrids were obtained in the 1940s at the University of Minnesota, and have been used in subsequent breeding, such as in the parentage of a