Almond (Prunus dulcis) is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries but widely cultivated elsewhere. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus Prunus, it is classified with the peach in the subgenus Amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by corrugations on the shell surrounding the seed.

Almond is a deciduous tree, growing 4-10 m in height, with a trunk of up to 30 cm in diameter. The young twigs are green at first, becoming purplish where exposed to sunlight, then grey in their second year. The leaves are 8-13 cm long, with a sawtoothed margin and a 2.5 cm leaf-stalk. The flowers are white to pale pink, 3-5 cm diameter with five petals, produced singly or in pairs and appearing before the leaves in early spring. The almond fruit is 3.5-6 cm long. The outer covering, fleshy in other members of Prunus such as the plum and cherry, is instead a thick, leathery, grey-green coat, called the hull. Inside the hull is a netveinedd, hard, woody shell (like the outside of a peach pit) called the endocarp. Inside the shell is the edible seed, commonly called a nut. After the fruit matures, the hull splits and separates from the shell, and an abscission layer forms between the stem and the fruit so that the fruit can fall from the tree. Almond tree is native to Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Pakistani Kashmir, Uzbekistan. It is widely cultivated in Kashmir.

As well as being a tasty addition to the diet, almonds are also beneficial to the overall health of the body, being used especially in the treatment of kidney stones, gallstones and constipation. Externally, the oil is applied to dry skins and is also often used as a carrier oil in aromatherapy. The seed is demulcent, emollient, laxative, nutritive and pectoral. When used medicinally, the fixed oil from the seed is normally employed. The seed contains 'laetrile', a substance that has also been called vitamin B17. This has been claimed to have a positive effect in the treatment of cancer, but there does not at present seem to be much evidence to support this. The pure substance is almost harmless, but on hydrolysis it yields hydrocyanic acid, a very rapidly acting poison - it should thus be treated with caution. In small amounts this exceedingly poisonous compound is used medicinally since it stimulates respiration, improves digestion and gives a sense of well-being. The leaves are used in the treatment of diabetes.