Fruit Anatomy

Fruit Types

• Acorn is the fruit of the oak, partially enclosed by a hardened involucral cup.

Pericarp Fleshy

• Drupe: derived from a single carpel, usually one-seeded, with a hard endocarp, thin exocarp, and fleshy mesocarp (e.g., cherry, almond, peach, apricot, olive).
• Berry: derived from a compound ovary, with multiple seeds embedded in flesh (e.g., tomato).
• Hesperidium: characteristic of citrus fruits (lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit), with a thick leathery rind, juicy pulp, and oil glands.
• Pepo: a berry-like fruit, characteristic of the Cucurbitaceae family (e.g., cucumber, melon, squash).

Kinds of Fruits

• Classification criteria: flower structure, number of ovaries, number of carpels, pericarp nature (dry or fleshy), dehiscence, and sepals/receptacle role.
• Simple fruits: derived from a single ovary, may be dry or fleshy, with one or more carpels.
• Aggregate fruits: derived from multiple ovaries of a single flower (e.g., strawberry, blackberry).
• Multiple fruits: derived from the ovaries of several flowers, grown together (e.g., fig, pineapple).

Simple Fruits

• Pericarp Dry and Dehiscent:
  • Pod: characteristic of Fabaceae (Leguminosae), with a shell (pericarp) and seeds (e.g., bean, pea).
  • Follicle: opens along one suture, developing from a single carpel.
  • Capsule: derived from a compound ovary, dehiscing in various ways.
  • Silique: characteristic of Brassicaceae, with two locules and seeds attached to the central portion.

Pericarp Dry and Indehiscent

• Achene: dry, one-seeded, indehiscent fruit (e.g., sunflower), with a pericarp separable from the seed coat.
• Grain or Caryopsis: dry, one-seeded, indehiscent fruit (e.g., grass), with pericarp and seed coat firmly united.
• Samara: dry, indehiscent fruit, with an outgrowth of the ovary wall forming a wing-like structure.
• Schizocarp: characteristic of Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), with two carpels splitting along the midline into two one-seeded halves (e.g., carrot, celery).
• Nut: one-seeded, indehiscent dry fruit with a hard or stony pericarp (e.g., chestnut, acorn, walnut).