L11 Plant Science: Anatomy: Fruit Flashcards
(21 cards)
What are fruits?
Fleshy structures that contain seeds and are formed from a mature ovary or pericarp.
‘Around the carpel’ (the female part of the flower)
What are the three layers of fruit?
- Exocarp: Outer layer (skin)
- Mesocarp: Middle fleshy tissue layer between endocarp and exocarp
- Endocarp: Inner layer surrounding the seed
How are fruits classified at maturity?
Fleshy or dry.
What characterizes a drupe?
Single flower/simple ovary - giving rise to:
* Stone fruit
* Single seed enclosed in a hard endocarp
Peach, cherry, olive, mango
What characterizes a berry?
Single flower/compound ovary giving rise to:
* Seeds embedded in fleshy tissue
* Thin skin and soft pericarp at maturity
Tomato, grape, banana, kiwi, blueberry
What is unique about berries forming from flowers with inferior ovaries?
They keep remnant of flower, e.g., Blueberry.
What is an aggregate fruit?
Single flower/multiple separate ovaries giving rise to:
* A cluster of small drupes on a single receptacle
* Looks like one fruit but made of many small fruits
Raspberry, blackberry, strawberry
Define multiple fruit.
Multiple flowers/multiple ovaries :
* Fuse together into a single, larger fruit
Pineapple, fig, mulberry
What is a pome?
- Flesh derived from enlarged receptacle which engulfs carpels
- ‘False’ fruits
Apple, pear, quince
What is a pepo?
Berries with thick skin
Melon, squashes, pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo).
Define hesperidium.
Berry with leathery skin containing volatile oils
Citrus fruit
What are fruits that split at maturity called?
Dehiscent fruits
These fruits release their seeds when they mature.
What is a follicle?
A fruit that splits down one side
Example: Star Anise.
Define a capsule fruit.
A fruit that has 2 or more carpels that split in various ways
Example: Poppy.
What is a legume?
A fruit that splits on both sides
Example: Peas.
What characterizes a silique fruit?
It splits on both sides with a partition between seeds
Example: Black Mustard.
What is a silicle?
Like a silique but shorter in length
Example: Shepherd’s Purse.
What are fruits that do not split at maturity called?
Indehiscent fruits
These fruits retain their seeds at maturity.
Define an achene.
A fruit where the base of the seed is attached loosely to the base of the surrounding pericarp
Example: Sunflower seed.
What is a nut?
A one-seeded fruit like an achene but with a thick, hard pericarp within a cup or cluster of bracts
Examples: Acorn, Hazelnut.
What is a grain in terms of fruit?
A fruit where the pericarp is fused to the seed
Example: Wheat.
