Distribution
The exact place of origin for the domestic peach is unknown. Based on archeology from the 2010s, East China near the Yangtze Delta has emerged as a likely candidate and contradicting the theory of domestication in Northwestern China. Many sources since the 1980s have listed North China as its likely place of origin. They are now naturalized in many other parts of Asia. It grows throughout eastern China and into Inner Mongolia. To the east they are found on the Korean Peninsula and in Japan. To the south they are found in Vietnam and Laos. In the Indian subcontinent are reported in the Eastern Himalayas and nearby Assam province, but not Nepal, parts of central India, Pakistan, and the Western Himalayas. Westwards they are an introduced species in Afghanistan, Iran, and all the countries of Central Asia. Transitioning to Europe they grow in the North Caucasus, Transcaucasus, and Turkey.
In Europe, the peach trees are partly naturalized. In western Europe they are found in Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In central Europe they are reported as escaped from cultivation in Germany, Hungary, and Switzerland and in Corsica, Sardinia, Italy, Cyprus, and Greece in the south. In the southeast they grow as introduced plants in Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria. To the east they are found in parts of European Russia, Ukraine, and Crimea.
Peach trees have escaped from cultivation in the African nations of Libya, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and the Cape Verde Islands off the northeast coast. Specific areas of South Africa include the biogeographic areas of the Northern Provinces, Orange Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal.
In North America, in addition to cultivation, peach saplings are often found growing anywhere pits have been discarded. Most of these feral trees are short lived, but some have established naturalized populations. Such escapes are reported in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia. Trees outside of cultivation have been found in all of the United States east of the Mississippi excluding Minnesota, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In the northwest, they are found in Oregon and Idaho. In the Southwestern United States, they are to some extent naturalized from California to Texas, with the exception of Nevada. The situation is similar in the northwest of Mexico and El Salvador in Central America. In South America, escapees are only reported from Ecuador and the northeast of Argentina.
In Australia, it is naturalized in the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia. In New Zealand, it can be found as an escapee from cultivation on both the North Island and South Island, especially around Auckland, Christchurch, and in the Otago region. It is also naturalized on many oceanic islands including the Mariana Islands, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Réunion, and Saint Helena.
