What is the function of the fuzz on the skin of a peach? And is a nectarine a bald peach or a peach a fuzzy nectarine?
鈥� Coincidentally, I was teaching about herbivory and other organismal interactions today in my AP environmental science class in South Carolina as I read this question about the function of fuzz on peaches. South Carolina is one of the largest producers of peaches in the world. Indeed, legend has it that the city of Spartanburg in the state used to produce more peaches than Georgia, which is known as the Peach State.
Hair on plants is probably an evolutionary response to insects鈥� proboscises and the constant sucking that they would be able to do if the hairs weren鈥檛 there to repel them.
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Many juicy fruit have thick hairs, rinds or peels that prevent the insects from getting close enough.
Leaves often have hairs or thick, waxy cuticles too. Of course, this leads to an evolutionary arms race between the plant and insect to see who can win out.
Bill Smith, South Carolina Governor鈥檚 School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville, South Carolina, US
鈥� Peaches and nectarines are the same species, Prunus persica. The gene responsible for the peach鈥檚 fuzzy skin is a dominant gene and a mutation of this produces a recessive gene that is expressed as the fuzzless peach we call a nectarine.
If a P. persica tree is to produce nectarines, it must get this recessive gene from both of its parent trees. The fruit of P. persica can be a peach, a nectarine or a combination of both: the peacherine is an intermediate cultivar.
鈥淧eaches and nectarines are the same species. The peacherine is an intermediate cultivar鈥�
There are various hypotheses concerning the peach鈥檚 fuzz function: it helps retain moisture; it protects against excess moisture; it is a defence against pathogens and insects. In all probability, the function is a bit of them all.
David Muir, Edinburgh, UK
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