Desert PeachOne of the first things you may wonder when encountering desert peach is if you can eat the small, dime-sized peaches that follow the beautiful blooms each spring. Well, they aren't really edible for humans.
This peach shrub is actually a species in the rose family. It's part of the genus that includes almond, cherry and peach. That said, it's also commonly referred to as desert almond.
Native to eastern California and western Nevada, desert peach (scientific name: Prunus andersonii) can be found in deserts and forests, and on mountains. Desert rose can reach a height of more than six feet! Erupting on mountain slopes or desert flats in spring this year was the beautiful pink desert peach blossoms that you could spot from a long distance away.

One of the first things you may wonder when encountering desert peach is if you can eat the small, dime-sized peaches that follow the beautiful blooms each spring. Well, they aren't really edible for humans.

This peach shrub is actually a species in the rose family. It's part of the genus that includes almond, cherry and peach. That said, it's also commonly referred to as desert almond.

Native to eastern California and western Nevada, desert peach (scientific name: Prunus andersonii) can be found in deserts and forests, and on mountains. Desert rose can reach a height of more than six feet!

Desert PeachOne of the first things you may wonder when encountering desert peach is if you can eat the small, dime-sized peaches that follow the beautiful blooms each spring. Well, they aren't really edible for humans.
This peach shrub is actually a species in the rose family. It's part of the genus that includes almond, cherry and peach. That said, it's also commonly referred to as desert almond.
Native to eastern California and western Nevada, desert peach (scientific name: Prunus andersonii) can be found in deserts and forests, and on mountains. Desert rose can reach a height of more than six feet! It is noted for a complex tangle of branches that narrow to "spiny-tipped twigs," according to Calscape.

"Serrated, lance-shaped to oval leaves occur in clusters, each leaf measuring up to ... 1 to 2 inches long," Calscape notes. "The shrub is deciduous. The inflorescence {flower head} is a solitary flower or pair of flowers. Each flower usually has five concave pink petals each just under ... .4 inches) long, with many whiskerlike stamens at the center. Flowers bloom before or at the same time as the leaves appear.

"The fruit is a fuzzy reddish-orange drupe around ... .4 inches wide. The fruits are fleshy in years with ample moisture, and dry in drought years. The seed is a heart-shaped stone. The plant reproduces sexually via germination of the seed, and vegetatively by sprouting from its rhizome. One plant may sprout and resprout from its rhizomes to form a very large clone which can spread over several acres."

The photos I took show the desert rose near Virginia City.