Fruits

Question 1

What is a fruit?

Answer 1

• Fruits

* for protection & dispersal of seeds • a fruit is a mature ovary

Question 2

The key to understanding fruits is to consider the flower from which they originated:

Answer 2

Consider:
– G 1 superior
– G (3) superior
– G (3) inferior
– G 60 superior
- what scars would be present? - what would inside fruit be like?
- what scars would be present? - what would fruit surface be like?
– G 1 superior but with many flowers very close together in florescence

Question 3

What is fruit classification based on?

Answer 3

• Origin:
– simple
– aggregate – multiple
• Composition: – true
– accessory
• Description
– fleshy/dry
– dehiscent/indehiscent

Question 4

What type of fruits are there?

Answer 4

• Simple/aggregate/multiple (SAM Strawberries Are Marvellous)
– simple: single carpel/several fused carpels – 1 ovary
G1 or G(2-many)
– aggregate: single flower, multiple free ovaries; G2-many
– multiple: many flowers/fruits in inflorescence
(also are accessory fruits due to extra tissues)
• True/accessory(orfalsefruit)
– true: only ovary tissues, usually from a superior ovary
– accessory: simple + other tissues than ovary wall (eg.
floral tube or receptacle) – often from an inferior ovary

Question 5

What is a simple fruit?

Answer 5

• Simple (or true) fruit • Simple fleshy
– Berry – soft throughout – grape, tomato
– Drupe – hard stony pit – peaches, olives
– Hesperidium – berry with leathery skin - orange
– Pepo – berry with thick rind - watermelon
– Pomes – accessory fruit - apples

Question 6

What is a simple dry dehiscent fruit?

Answer 6

• Simple dry dehiscent
– Follicle – splits down 1 side
– Legume – splits down 2 sides – beans, peas
– Silique – G(2) splits down both sides - brassicas – Capsule – G(>1) – opens many ways – eucs
– Achene - single seed per fruit, seed easily removed
– Samara – like achene but with wing
– Schizocarp – fruit splits into 1 seeded units
– Nut
– Grain/caryopsis – like achene but seed fused to ovary wall

Question 7

What are the different regions of the fruit?

Answer 7

• Regions of the fruit: • pericarp (ovary wall):
– exocarp – skin
– mesocarp – often fleshy – endocarp – next to seeds
• hard & stony – peach pit
• papery – apple
– 3 layers often only clear in fleshy fruits – in dry fruits pericarp is usually thin