Fruits
A fruit typically consists of a mature ovary but
can also include other flower parts
May be sweet ……but not necessarily
Fruits protect seeds and aid in their dispersal.
A Flowering Plant’s
Magnum Opus
Mature fruits can be either:
I. Fleshy - eg: grapes, apricots, apples
II. Dry – eg: beans, grains, nuts
> Dehiscent – split at maturity
> Indehiscent – don’t split
Anatomy of a fruit
Seed
Endocarp – immediately around seed,
may be hard & stony or papery.
Mesocarp – fleshy tissue (in fleshy fruits)
between endo and exocarp.
Exocarp – Skin or rind of a fruit.
Pericarp – all three carpi regions
collectively.
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Fruit adaptations help disperse
seeds
Seeds can be carried by:
> wind
> water
> animals
…………..to new locations
The products of successful
flower fertilization
Simple Fruits
Seed – From the ovule
Seed Coat –
From the Ovule Wall
Fruit – From the Ovary
Develops from a
single carpel.
OR
May develop from
several fused
carpels. (Compound)
Derived from one
flower.
Examples: Pea,
lemon, beans,
peanut.
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Aggregate Fruit
Develops from many
separate carpels.
From one flower.
Examples:
- raspberry
- blackberry
- strawberry
Multiple Fruits
Develops from many
carpels.
Many flowers i.e. an
inflorescence.
Examples:
Pineapple.
Fig
Osage orange
Accessory Fruit
Develops from
tissues other than the
ovary.
May be embedded in
the fleshy receptacle.
Examples:
- Apple (only core
develops from ovary).
Elaboration on classifications
Drupe:
- simple, fleshy fruit.
- contains a single
seed.
- seed may be a stony
endocarp or pit.
Examples:
Apricots
Cherries
Peaches
Plums
Olives
Almonds
Coconut
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Elaboration on classifications
Pomes
-Simple fleshy fruits.
-Flesh comes from
enlarged receptacle
that grows around the
ovary. Aka “core”
-Endocarp is papery.
Examples:
Apples
Pears
Dry Fruits
Dehiscent
> Follicle (milkweed)
> Legume (beans)
> Siliques & silicles
(money plant)
> Capsules (poppy)
Elaboration on classifications
Berries
- Develop from
compound ovary.
-Usually contain more
than one seed.
- Typically have a thin
skin and soft pericarp.
Examples:
Tomatoes
Grapes
Peppers
Blueberries
Pomegranates
Avocados*
Dates*
* Exception of single
seed.
What influences fruit development?
Indehiscent
> Achene (sunflower)
> Nuts (hazelnuts)
> Grain
> Samaras (maples)
> Schizocarp (carrot)
Hormone Clues
Maturation of the seeds contained within.
Environmental clues
Examples:
- sunlight sugar deposited into the
fruit.
- water availability
- pollinator availability
- disease conditions e.g. mildew
- onset of frost
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Other seed dispersal mechnisms
Kind hearts are the gardens
Kind thoughts are the roots
Kind words are the flowers
Kind deeds are the fruits.
- R.R. Doblin
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