- Apricots originated on the Russian-Chinese border in about 3000 BC and were imported along with peach seed into Europe through the “Silk Road” that extended camelback trading to the Mideast. The fruit grows as an escaped naturalized plant along modern roadsides in Turkey and Armenia today in abundant numbers. Apricots were known in ancient Greece in 60 BC and later introduced into the Roman Empire. The apricot trees are believed to have arrived in the early American colonies in seed form for growing into fruit trees by the French explorers of the 1700’s in Gulf regions and in the Eastern United States and at California monasteries by Spanish explorers and missionaries. (The Nursery At Ty Ty)
History from (abrikon.com): The Holy Land of Armenia gave humanity apricot - one of the best and most useful fruits in the world. A ripe juicy apricot with a gentle, velvety skin and oozing flesh is something special. Armenians grow apricot trees over 3000 years. The evidence of this judgement are the apricot stones found during excavations near the Temple of Garni. The word "apricot" has a long history. The Romans called apricot “Armenian apple”. This name is also preserved in Botany: Prunus armeniaca or Armeniaca vulgaris. The most beloved and well-known Armenian instrument - the duduk is made of Apricot tree. In the recent years the duduk has become one of the trendy eastern instruments among the well-known western musicians. In Armenian the duduk is also called «tsiranapogh», which means «pipe, made of apricot wood». Many masters have tried to make the duduk of pear tree, plum tree and even apple tree, but only the duduk carved from apricot tree sounds well.