Fruit Classification

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering fruit structure, development, ripening behavior, cambial zones, ovary positioning, gynoecium morphology, and fruit types.

Fruit

Matured or ripened ovary with accessory parts; can be eaten raw or processed.

Pericarp

Outer wall of the ripened ovary that becomes the fruit; can be dry or fleshy and has three layers.

Exocarp

Outermost layer of the fruit; the skin.

Epicarp

Synonym of exocarp; outer skin of the fruit.

Mesocarp

Middle fleshy layer of the fruit that is often edible.

Endocarp

Innermost layer of the pericarp surrounding the seed.

Seed

Mature ovule; contains the embryo and stored food; enables plant propagation.

Seed Coat

Outer protective covering of the seed.

Embryo

Developing young plant contained within the seed.

Stored Food

Nutritive tissue in seeds (endosperm or cotyledons) for the seedling.

Ovary

Flower part that contains ovules and develops into fruit after fertilization.

Ovules

Structures inside the ovary that mature into seeds.

Climacteric fruits

Fruits that continue ripening after harvest with increased ethylene and respiration.

Non-climacteric fruits

Fruits that do not ripen after harvest and have little ethylene production.

Ethylene

Plant hormone that promotes fruit ripening.

Respiration rate

Rate of CO2 production during ripening; climacteric fruits show a peak.

Photoperiodism

Developmental response of plants to the length of light and dark periods.

Short-day plants

Flower when daylength is less than about 12 hours (long nights).

Long-day plants

Flower when daylength is longer than about 12 hours.

Day-neutral plants

Plants that flower irrespective of photoperiod once a growth stage is reached.

Superior ovary

Ovary positioned above the attachment; petals, calyx, and stamens are around the ovary.

Half-inferior ovary

Thalamus forms a cup around the ovary; floral parts align along the cup’s rim.

Inferior ovary

Thalamus largely covers the ovary; floral parts sit above the ovary.

Thalamus

Receptacle tissue to which floral organs attach; helps determine ovary position.

Carpels

Female reproductive units consisting of stigma, style, and ovary; can be monocarpellary or multicarpellary.

Monocarpellary gynoecium

Gynoecium with a single carpel.

Multicarpellary gynoecium

Gynoecium with multiple carpels.

Apocarpous

Gynoecium where carpels are separate, forming distinct gynoecia.

Syncarpous

Carpels fused to form a single gynoecium.

Locule

Chamber or compartments inside the ovary.

Unilocular

Ovary with a single locule.

Multilocular

Ovary with multiple locules.

Simple fruit

Fruit that develops from a single ovary; can be fleshy or dry.

Fleshy fruits

Pericarp becomes fleshy at maturity; includes epicarp, mesocarp, endocarp.

Berries

Fleshy fruit from a single flower with one or more carpels; succulent pericarp; seeds embedded; exocarp thin.

Drupes

Stone fruits; fleshy mesocarp with a hard endocarp; typically from a single carpel.

Pomes

Fruits from compound inferior ovaries with fleshy receptacle tissue; central true fruit.

Hesperidium

Citrus-type fruit with a leathery exocarp containing oil glands and segmented juice vesicles.

Pepo

Fruits from one or fused carpels of an inferior ovary; exocarp woody; fleshy mesocarp; many seeds.

Dry fruits

Pericarp becomes hard or brittle and is not differentiated into three layers.

Dehiscent

Dry fruits that open at maturity to release seeds along sutures.

Indehiscent

Dry fruits that do not open at maturity to release seeds.

Accessory fruit

Fruit formed from receptacle or other floral parts in addition to the ovary.

Strawberry

Accessory fruit where the receptacle forms most of the fruit.

Cashew apple

Accessory fruit example (part of the cashew fruit system).

Fig

Accessory fruit; non-true fruit formed from receptacle tissue.

Aggregate fruit

Fruit formed from multiple ovaries of the same flower (apocarpous).

Raspberry

Aggregate fruit example; composed of many small drupelets from separate ovaries.

Blackberry

Aggregate fruit example; similar to raspberry with multiple druplets.

Pineapple

Multiple fruit formed from the entire inflorescence with fused fruitlets.