Welcome to this article that will be talking about whether or not almonds and peaches are related to each other. The short answer is that they are. But they are technically only cousins and not closer than that.
The pit of a peach is often referred to as an almond and is probably the reason for a lot of confusion around peaches and almonds being related to each other. The peach fruit is often called an almond fruit actually, but the more common term might be stone fruit instead.
Follow along in this article and we will dive deeper into this topic and what the two have in common and what some of the possibilities are with the seed of the peach fruit, which does look a lot like an almond.
Are Almonds And Peaches Related
Just like we said at the beginning of the article here, the almond tree and the peach tree are related to each other. But they are only cousins in this family tree. They are a part of the same subgenus which is called Amygdalus.
The similarities between the two often come up with the shape and the look of the seed inside the peach. This is often looked upon as an almond if you weren’t too familiar with the looks of them.
The peach fruit will have a rather large pit inside that will contain a small almond look seed. If you were to plant this then it would eventually sprout and with proper care, it will grow into a new peach tree.
Some people have advocated for the health benefits of eating these seeds, but it is our firm belief that these should never be eaten. They contain something called cyanide which is extremely poisonous.
So the best thing to do is just plant the seed and let it grow. The needs that the seed has been very small. It will need to be watered well and the soil should never really dry out. Making sure that doesn’t happen is very important actually.
Let it grow in a sunny spot and within a few months, you should be able to see some signs above the soil. Continue to care for it and maybe add some fertilizer to the soil to boost the growth speed.
if you would like to learn more about peach seeds and if they are edible then we have a dedicated article just about this, find it here, Are Peach Seeds Edible.
Why Are Almonds In The Peach Family
The two different trees are in the same family because of the look of the seeds. The almond has much of the same color as the seed within the peach pit. That was one of the first reasons why the two were put in the same family.
They are a part of what is called the prunus family, which both plums and nectarines for example are also a part of. They grow much the same way and all of them have a rather hard shell that contains a small seed that will sprout and grow if taken care of properly.
A fun fact is that the almond tree is actually referred to as a hard-shelled fruit tree. That might not make a lot of sense but still is a fun fact about the tree.
If you are wondering why the peach tree is not considered a citrus then we have also written about this. You can find our article here, Are Peaches Considered Citrus.
What Fruit Is Related To Almonds
There are plenty of fruits that are related to almonds since they are a part of the prunus family. There we have trees like plums and nectarines. They are referred to as hard shell fruits.
The cherry tree is also in this family and as we have revealed in this article before here, the peach tree is also a member of this family. The almond tree and the peach tree are actually cousins.
