Unit 4: Fruits + Seeds

Question 1

What distinguishes the Rose family plants (Rosacea)

Answer 1

All showy flowers with 5 petals and numerous stamen, diverse fruit development after pollination

Question 2

What sub-family is the spiraeoideae?

Answer 2

apple - pear - plum

Question 3

what kind of fruit are apple & pear (pome fruit)?

Answer 3

Accessory fruit = ovaries are encased in floral cup that become the fleshy part we eat (we don’t eat the ovaries)

Question 4

what part of strawberries is true fruit?

Answer 4

the seeds, the juicy flesh is a swollen receptacle

Question 5

where were apples domesticated?

Answer 5

from wild progenitor species in Kazakhstan around 3000-4000 ya in the middle east (grafting also in 300 BC)

Question 6

what are drupes?

Answer 6

Stone fruit: plums, cherries, peaches, and other Prunus genus

Question 7

what type of fruit has a pit as a modified endocarp and fleshy part derived from the mesocarp and skin from the exocarp?

Answer 7

drupes/stone fruit

Question 8

where did stone fruit originate?

Answer 8

western china with some also in N America prior to European arrival but many came after

Question 9

what is the difference between a free stone or cling type drupe?

Answer 9

free stone = mesocarp easily separates from the endocarp

cling type = two tissues are fused together like in a peach

Question 10

what type of fruit are raspberries and black berries?

Answer 10

false berries, they are accessory fruit
=derived from many separate ovaries on a single flower (aggregate fruit)

*brambles = species in genus Rubus

Question 11

what fruit comes from the Ericacae family?

Answer 11

blueberries & cranberries

=> fleshy portion from leaf and petal base along with the ovary

Question 12

what family is the grape part of?

Answer 12

Vitaceae family

*main wine grapes are from Vitis vinifer, native to Eurasia and cultivated since 8000 BC

Question 13

Which fruit is a pepo? and where did it originate?

Answer 13

Squash, North/central america

Question 14

what kind of nuts are true nuts aka fruit?

Answer 14

hazelnuts and chestnuts = a single seed fused to the ovary wall with a hard shell

other nuts are false and comprised of cotyledons

Question 15

what plant is used on roots in wineries to resist pests that attack roots?

Answer 15

V.labrusca, another grape but better for juices and this purpose

Question 16

what fruit comes from the Solanaceae family?

Answer 16

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, (all berries) and potatoes

Question 17

what fruit was considered poisonous and not immediately accepted in europe from the new world?

Answer 17

Tomatoes

Question 18

What are citrus?

Answer 18

hesperidum = a berry with leathery skin formed by exocarp + mesocarp

ONLY 4 distinct species = pummelos, mandarin, kumquat, and citron all others are hybrids

Question 19

why is winter squash a good staple crop?

Answer 19

because they store well once mature

Question 20

what are pepos?

Answer 20

monoecious plants with imperfect male and female flowers on the same plant
= squash, melons, and cucumbers

Question 21

why are avacados different?

Answer 21

only fruit rich in oils and high in calories rather than water and sugar
= seed lacks a protective coat and has fleshy fruit but is not suited for seed dispersal

Question 22

what is unique about date palm trees?

Answer 22

Part of the palm family (Arecaceae) = dioecious tree with imperfect male and female flowers on seperate plants

Question 23

why are coconuts unique?

Answer 23

they produce a liquid endosperm = free floating nuclei that is coconut water and then when it matures it becomes the meat

Question 24

what are the 3 indents on a coconut?

Answer 24

remnants of 3 carpels of which only 1 develops on embryo

Question 25

what fruit is a triploid plant?

Answer 25

bananas = they cannot produce seeds (because commercial are a hybrid between a diploid and tetraploid species)