The story for kids
The life of an apricot tree. An apricot tree grows from a tiny pit. Every year the tree gets bigger, and a new ring is added inside its trunk. Look under your feet: the tree's roots are just as wide as its branches!
Facts
- An apricot tree grows from a tiny pit.
- Every year the tree gets bigger, and a new ring is added to its trunk.
- Look under your feet: the tree's roots spread as wide as its branches.
Numbers
- One year here
- 12 seconds
- First fruit
- at 3–4 years old
For grown-ups
A tree trunk grows thicker every year thanks to a thin layer of tissue called the cambium. In spring and summer it produces wide, pale wood, and in autumn narrow, dark wood. That is how annual growth rings form. The apricot's scientific name is Prunus armeniaca, meaning the Armenian plum.