||Pru"nus (?), n. [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.

&fist; 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.

Latin
• A plum.
  
• Genus name: Any of several trees in the family Rosaceae, bearing drupes characterized by a seam and three veins, one opposite the seam and the other two flanking it, such as the plum, almond, peach, apricot, and cherry.