The tree is being sold at a local chain store garden center as a dwarf, handsome little plant that produces peaches and is cold hardy to zone 5: http://www.learn2grow.com/plants/prunus-persica-tom-thumb-bonfire-pp8509/ But the label, and online says fruit is "inedible". This website describing Prunus persica in general (not the variety), describes it as simply a Common Peach: http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Prunus+persica However it has a nice little schpiel about hydrogen cyanide, saying the seeds can cause respiratory failure and instant death in large quantities. Wait a minute, is this the common peach we're talking about? I'm confused. I'd love to have a little fruit tree and aren't too choosy about a bitter taste, but don't of course want to eat anything poisonous. So what exactly does 'inedible' mean, on a fruit tree?
This is a small purple leaved peach cultivar. Peach seeds do contain chemicals that will convert to cyanide when digested, as do apple, apricot and cherry seeds. You should not eat the seeds of these plants. The fruit of Prunus persica 'Tom Thumb'(BONFIRE) is actually edible, but small and not desirable according to many, but the people at one catalog actually describe it as having a "deliciously sweet flavour".
Flesh.--Thin, dry, fibrous.... ....Quality.--Poor. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...50&s1=PP08509.PN.&OS=PN/PP08509&RS=PN/PP08509
