Apricots were cultivated in China, and spread to Europe (first Italy and then Greece) at the beginning of the Christian era, thanks to the Romans, after the conquest of Armenia. Linnaeus believed the apricot (Prunus armeniaca) to be originally from Armenia, while other scholars believed it to be Transcaucasia. It is currently believed that this important fruit species originated in Turkestan, where it grows wild up to 2,000 meters above sea level.
