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In Shelley Read's debut novel, Go as a River, the heroine's life revolves around her peach farm in Colorado.
Genetically the peach is part of the rose family, but its closest relative is the almond. Its genera, Prunus, also includes cherry, apricot and plum trees. While its formal name, Prunus persica, translates to "Persian plum," it's believed that peaches were first cultivated in China. Archeological evidence points to orchards in Zhejiang Provence as early as 6000 BCE.
Peaches spread across the globe over the ensuing millennia. While the fruit itself is relatively fragile, the seeds grow readily and are easily transported, making them easy to propagate. After becoming established in the Middle East, peaches arrived in Europe during the 4th century BCE, brought to the Mediterranean by Alexander the Great as a spoil of war. From there the fruit spread across Europe to Spain, eventually arriving in the New World with the Conquistadors in the 16th century.
Like apples, ...
