A smooth-skinned, fuzzless form of peach, Prunus persica, probably brought to the Middle East from Central Asia by Alexander the Great. The nectarine's lack of pubescence is a simple recessive genetic characteristic. Classically, the fruits were thought of as being somewhat smaller, softer, and richer in flavor than those of the peach. More recently developed cultivars, however, approximate fresh-market peaches in size and firmness but are not usually superior in flavor. Propagation and cultivation are the same as for the peach, but because of its susceptibility to brown rot (Sclerotinia fructicola) in humid growing areas, the nectarine is primarily grown in irrigated peach-growing areas where atmospheric humidity is low.