Prunus scoparia

Prunus scoparia is a wild almond primarily found in the Zagros forests of Iran^[1] but also distributed across Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan.^{[citation needed]} It is a xerophytic shrub and it has been used as a grafting stock for domesticated almonds to provide drought resistance.^[2][3]

Prunus scoparia
Prunus scoparia fruit on a tree in the Gilazard valley
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Prunus
Species:	P. scoparia
Binomial name
Prunus scoparia (Spach) C.K.Schneid.
Synonyms
Amygdalus scoparia Spach

P. scoparia in the Gilazard Valley

P. scoparia in the Gilazard Valley

Its seeds are consumed by rural Iranians as a cheap source of high-quality protein.^[1] Its leaves are the primary food of the larvae of Parornix turcmeniella moths. In recent scholarship, it is sometimes referenced as Persian gum after the model of gum arabic,^[4] although this name is also used for the commercially unimportant P. lycioides^[1] and for the resin of the unrelated Astragalus sarcocolla.