Fruit

  • The fruit is the mature or ripened ovary of a plant. Fruits enclose the seeds. The branch of horticulture that deals with the study of fruits and fruit cultivations is known as pomology.
  • Fruit is developed from a fertilized ovary. If the fruits are developed without fertilization, it is called a parthenocarpic fruit, and the phenomenon is known as parthenocarpy. In some plants, some parts of the flower are also involved in fruit formation. Such a fruit is called a false fruit or pseudocarp.
  • During the development, ovary becomes fruit, and the ovary wall becomes the fruit wall, known as pericarp. The pericarp has three layers – outer epicarp, middle mesocarp and an inner endocarp.

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Classification of Fruits

Fruits are generally classified into three, based on their origin, and development.

 

Simple fruits

  • It is the fruit developed from a single flower having either one (monocarpellary) or numerous (multicarpellary) carpels in a syncrpous condition.
  • They can be dry fruits (e.g. Pisum) or fleshy fruits (e.g. Mangifera indica).

Aggregate fruits

  • An aggregate fruit is developed from an apocarpous pistil (carpels – free).
  • Each carpel develops into a fruitlet (e.g. Polyalthia).

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Multiple fruits

  • Fruits developed from an inflorescence are termed as a multiple fruit.
  • It is also called a composite fruit or sorosis.
  • E.g. Pinapple, Jackfruit.

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