Why do peaches have hair? What should I do if I am allergic to it?

I have three impressions of peaches. The first is that they are the most scientific fruit , the second is the most delicious elixir of longevity , and the third is the most annoying itchy hairs .

The first impression comes from the classroom. Friends who have taken biology exams will definitely not forget the standard plant for explaining fruit structure, which is peach. No other plant has more potential as a teaching aid than peach - the exocarp, mesocarp, endocarp, seed coat, seeds and epidermal appendages fully explain the basic structure of an angiosperm fruit.

Peaches are perfect as biology teaching aids | wikipedia

Let's talk about the second impression that peaches give me, which is the most delicious memory. This impression comes from the great fantasy science fiction and fantasy work "Journey to the West". According to the description, the heavenly court will hold a special meeting, the "Peach Meeting". Note that the important agenda of this meeting is to eat peaches. These immortals do not eat apples, plums, chestnuts, pears, lychees, mangoes, bananas, or even Musang King durians, but peaches, which shows the importance and deliciousness of peaches. Not to mention the strong promotion of the land god, "It blooms once every three thousand years and bears fruit once every three thousand years. If you eat it, you will become an immortal." When I was a child, I always had such a longing to eat peaches, that eating peaches could make me immortal. However, after eating peaches for more than 30 years, this wish has not been fulfilled.

In reality, peach blossoms bloom in the spring breeze every year | treeinpot.com

The annoying memory comes from peach fuzz. When I was a kid, the thing I feared most was washing peaches, because if I accidentally wiped the sweat off my forehead while washing peaches, the itchy feeling would spread to my scalp, and no matter how I washed it, it would not help. Coincidentally, one of my brothers is not only allergic to peach fuzz, but he can't even listen to people talking about peach fuzz. Adults think this is hypocritical and an act of evading work, but they don't know that peach fuzz allergy really exists. Itching is really not fake.

Hairy peach | pakistankakhudahafiz.com

Ancient house fruit

Peaches are a fruit native to China . They are not an outsider like apples, nor are they returnees like oranges. Instead, they are authentic "locals" that have completed an upgrade on Chinese soil.

In my country, wild peach trees are widely distributed. There are Gansu peaches and Xinjiang peaches in the northwest, mountain peaches in North China, and light walnuts in the southwest. The descendants of the peach family are all over China. Until now, we can still see wild peach trees on the mountains in the northwest and North China. Peach pits have been unearthed in Neolithic sites such as Hujiawuchang in Linli, Hunan 8,000 to 9,000 years ago and Hemudu 7,000 years ago, indicating that our ancestors have been dealing with peach trees since then. By 3,000 years ago, artificially cultivated peach varieties appeared, which can be proved by the peach pits found in the sites of this period.

Wild peach | Image source see watermark

In the process of continuous domestication and cultivation, the glorious image of the peach tree as an important living resource has gradually permeated into Chinese culture. From the "Book of Songs" in which we can see "the peach trees are young and flourishing, their blossoms are bright and shining", to the Peach Banquet in Journey to the West and the saying "peaches and plums are everywhere in the world", the peach tree is everywhere.

Photo | baumschuleritthaler.de

Peach? Peach on a plate?

Among the different varieties of peach, hairy peach is considered to be the most primitive variety, which later evolved into hard-fleshed peach , and then honey peach and nectarine appeared. Big and sweet has always been the direction of people's cultivation of peaches (or other kinds of fruits). Although people's favorite varieties have changed between yellow peaches, nectarines, and nectarines at different times in history, the goal of "big and sweet" has never changed. The earliest written record of the pursuit of big peaches dates back to the Han Dynasty, "There is a big peach tree on Mount Dusuo that is three thousand miles long", and the peaches got their name. As for the magical peaches in Journey to the West, which "bloom once every three thousand years and bear fruit once every three thousand years", it is an interpretation full of imagination and yearning for this kind of big peach.

Yellow peach | goodeggs.com

People subconsciously think that the longer a peach tree grows, the tastier the peaches it produces. In fact, the lifespan of a peach tree is usually only 20 to 30 years. The yield of a peach tree that has grown for more than 10 years will gradually decrease , so the peach trees in the orchard need to be replaced from time to time.

Large standard shaped peaches | gardenerdirect.com

As for the peaches, they are not the big round peaches that the Monkey King chewed in the TV series "Journey to the West". In fact, the peaches (Prunus Persica var. Platycarpa) are a special category, which represents a special kind of flat round peach. In fact, the shape of peaches has a transitional form from flat round to round . Mr. Liu Xiaolingtong chewed a normal standard round nectarine. The image of nectarine is associated with the longevity peach, which symbolizes longevity. The earliest record of peach and longevity appeared in Dongfang Shuo's "Shenyijing". "There is a tree in the northeast, which is fifty feet high. Its leaves are eight feet long and four or five feet wide. It is called peach. Its fruit is three feet and two inches in diameter, with a small narrow core. Eating it will make people know their longevity." Since then, peach has become a symbol of longevity.

Although flat peaches are very flat, they are not called almonds. | datuopinion.com

Crazy peach hair

Regardless of whether they are hard peaches or juicy peaches, almost all peaches have a common feature, that is, they are hairy. It is precisely because of this layer of hair that the peaches must be washed. I also wanted to rub them on my body and start chewing them like Sun Wukong, but the hair on my body is too short and the flesh is too tender, so I can't stand the itchiness of the peach hair.

Photo | enkivillage.com

Peach hairs are single-cell hairs that come from specialized epidermal cells. These annoying peach hairs are believed to have two functions. One is to block strong sunlight and prevent young fruits from being burned; the other is to prevent the accumulation of rainwater and keep the fruits dry. Of course, to some extent, it can also prevent animals from harassing peaches, at least some human individuals cannot cross this barrier. After contact with fresh peaches, the most obvious symptoms are itchy skin and wheals. The use of antihistamines and other drugs can relieve the symptoms . However, there are also cases of severe respiratory allergies that can cause patients to go into shock, which requires timely hospitalization for emergency treatment.

Young peach fruit with obvious fuzz | prota4u.org

Fortunately, there is a kind of peach in the world that can save people who are allergic to peach hairs, and that is nectarine. How did nectarines come about? Among hard peaches, honey peaches, and juicy peaches, there are mutant individuals that do not grow hairs, so nectarines were born. In other words, nectarines have a complicated origin.

The record of nectarine can be traced back to "There are peaches in the garden, and the fruit is delicious" in "The Book of Songs·Wei Feng". The earliest record of nectarine appeared in "Qimin Yaoshu". Later, "Qunfang Pu" and "Guangfang Qunpu" recorded it as plum peach, with the annotation that "its skin is smooth like plum, and it is also called Guangtao". This shows from one side that nectarine appeared later than cultivated peach, and it is likely to be a variety or variant that appeared through mutation breeding.

Smooth nectarines | nargil.ir

Today, scientific evidence shows that the hairiness of peaches is also controlled by genes, just like single or double eyelids in humans. Nectarines can appear in hard peaches, honey peaches, and juicy peaches.

Sticky peach gum

Sometimes, we are annoyed by the shiny, sticky stuff on peaches. When we go to pick peaches, there will also be a lot of sticky stuff on the peach trees. Once stuck, it is very difficult to clean - these sticky things are peach gum.

Peach gum | wikipedia

There are no specific research reports on the biological effects of peach gum. In my opinion, such sticky substances have some deterrent effect on pests and animals that damage peach trees. After all, it is not a pleasant thing to have your mouth, hands and feet stained. In addition, these sticky substances may also have a certain effect on sealing wounds and preventing microorganisms from taking advantage of the situation.

Although the main function of peach gum on peach trees has not been clarified, it does not prevent it from opening up new areas of work in people's daily lives. In addition to being a good adhesive , it also plays a role in ink: you know, it is difficult for a single toner to stick to the paper, but it is different with the sticky peach gum. It can not only fix the handwriting, but also can be easily wiped off due to the special properties of peach gum, which is convenient and practical.

Peach gum developed into food | veggiesmart.com.hk

In addition, peach gum is closely related to agarose in kelp. It is a polysaccharide formed by the combination of rhamnose, arabinose, galactose, glucuronic acid and xylose. This pure natural adhesive is naturally first-class in safety.

Nowadays, peach gum has a new identity - healthy food. The peach gum collected from the tree trunks is washed and stewed to become a top-grade beauty product. In fact, just look at the ingredients of peach gum and you will know that it is not something that the human stomach can handle . It may stimulate the peristalsis of the stomach and intestines, but don't believe the nonsense that it makes the skin smooth and elastic.

Isn't it nice to enjoy delicious peaches? | rampages.us

In addition to fruits and peach gum, peach trees also provide some peripheral products, such as peach charms, peach wood swords, and even directly broken peach branches, etc. These have always been regarded as weapons to ward off evil spirits. But in fact, providing wood is not the main business of peach trees. This is because, although peach wood is hard enough, the wood is fine enough, and it has enough elasticity, for wood processing, those short and twisted tree trunks are not good raw materials. Carving some small ornaments and making peach wood swords is okay, but making furniture beams is not so good. As for warding off evil spirits, this is probably related to the fact that peach wood was often used to carve door gods "peach charms" in the early days. Everyone can just listen and play, don't take it seriously.

Peach wood sword, just for fun, don't take it seriously, it can ward off evil spirits | facto-facts.com

Author: Shi Jun

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)

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