Though wild peaches still grow in China, people have been cultivating and improving them for at least 2,000 years. The cultivated peach traveled westward to Persia, where it flourished so well people assumed it was a native Persian fruit. The Spaniards brought the peach back from the East, and carried it to the New World. In modern times, American growers in California, which has a perfect climate for peaches, have shaped the world market. Technically, peaches are either clingstones or freestones.
Clingstones ripen earlier in the season.
Even when ripe, their flesh sticks to the stone. Peaches in cans tend to be clingstones. Because peaches survive canning better than most fruits, much of the world's production ends up in cans. Freestones, which ripen later in the season, easily pull away from the stone when ripe. The origin of nectarines is still a mystery.