Editing Almond (section)

== Origin and distribution ==

The precise origin of the almond is controversial due to estimates for its emergence across wide geographic regions.<ref name=imani/> Sources indicate that its origins were in an area stretching across [[Central Asia]], [[Iran]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Kurdistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Iraq]],<ref name=imani/><ref name=kole/> or in an [[East Asia|eastern Asian]] subregion between [[Mongolia]] and [[Uzbekistan]].<ref name="imani">{{Cite web |last=Imani |first=Ali |date=2022 |title=Almond production experience in Iran compared to other countries in the world |url=https://hsri.ac.ir/_DouranPortal/Documents/Almond%20production%20experience%20in%20Iran%20compared%20to%20other%20countries%20in%20the%20world_20231022_123933.pdf |publisher=Horticultural Sciences Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Iran Ministry of Agriculture|location=Jahad, Iran |page=12}}</ref><ref name="chin">{{cite journal |vauthors=Chin SW, Shaw J, Haberle R, Wen J, Potter D |title=Diversification of almonds, peaches, plums and cherries – Molecular systematics and biogeographic history of Prunus (Rosaceae) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |date=July 2014 |volume=76 |pages=34–48 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.024 |pmid=24631854 |bibcode=2014MolPE..76...34C |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S105579031400089X}}</ref> In other assessments, both botanical and [[archeology|archaeological]] evidence indicates that almonds originated and were first cultivated in [[West Asia]], particularly in countries of the [[Levant]].<ref name=ladizinsky99/><ref name="kole">{{cite book|vauthors=Martínez-Gómez P, Sánchez-Pérez R, Dicenta F, Howad W, Arús P, Gradziel TM|year=2007|chapter= Almond (Chapter 11)|editor=Kole C|title=Fruits and Nuts. Genome Mapping and Molecular Breeding in Plants, vol 4|publisher=Springer|location=Berlin|chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-34533-6_11|isbn=978-3-540-34533-6|doi=10.1007/978-3-540-34533-6_11}}</ref> Other estimates specified Iran and [[Anatolia]] (present day [[Turkey]]) as origin locations of the almond, with botanical evidence for Iran as the main origin centre.<ref name=imani/><ref name="BĀDĀM – Encyclopaedia Iranica">{{Cite web |publisher=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Badam (almond) |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/badam-almond|date=19 August 2011 |access-date=2 July 2024|quote=Iran and Anatolia were the center in which its various species evolved and from which they were diffused}}</ref>

The wild form of domesticated almond also grew in parts of the Levant.<ref name=kole/><ref name="BĀDĀM – Encyclopaedia Iranica" /><ref name=zohary>{{cite book |last=Zohary |first=Daniel |author2=Maria Hopf |title=Domestication of plants in the old world: the origin and spread of cultivated plants in West Asia, Europe, and the Nile Valley |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |page=186 |isbn=0-19-850356-3}}</ref> Almond cultivation was spread by humans centuries ago along the shores of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] into northern Africa and southern Europe,<ref name=kole/><ref name=chin/> and more recently to other world regions, notably [[California]].<ref name=eb/><ref name=Rieger>{{Cite web |url=https://homeorchard.ucanr.edu/Fruits_&_Nuts/Almond/ |title=Almond |publisher=Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California |date=2024|accessdate=2 July 2024}}</ref>

Selection of the sweet type from the many bitter types in the wild marked the beginning of almond domestication.<ref name=ladizinsky99/><ref name="sp">{{cite book |last=Sánchez-Pérez |first=Raquel |title=The Almond Tree Genome |publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-030-30302-0 |editor=Sánchez-Pérez |editor-first=Raquel |series=Compendium of Plant Genomes |location=Berlin |pages=15–24 |chapter=Origin and Domestication of Wild Bitter Almond. Recent Advancements on Almond Bitterness |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-30302-0_2 |editor-last2=i Marti |editor-first2=Angel Fernandez |editor-last3=Martinez-Gomez |editor-first3=Pedro |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30302-0_2}}</ref> The wild ancestor of the almond used to [[plant breeding|breed]] the domesticated species is unknown.<ref name=ladizinsky99/><ref name=sp/> The species ''[[Prunus fenzliana]]'' may be the most likely wild ancestor of the almond, in part because it is native to [[Armenia]] and [[Azerbaijan|western Azerbaijan]], where it was apparently domesticated.<ref name=ladizinsky99 /><ref name=kole/> Wild almond species were grown by early farmers, "at first unintentionally in the garbage heaps, and later intentionally in their orchards".<ref>{{cite book |last=Diamond |first=Jared M. |author-link=Jared Diamond |title=Guns, germs, and steel: the fates of human societies |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York |year=1997 |page=118 |isbn=0-393-03891-2|title-link=Guns, Germs, and Steel }}</ref>