Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Prunus
‖
Pru′nus
,Noun.
[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.
☞ Originally, this genus was limited to the plums, then, by Linnæus, 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
.