FRUIT
- Fruits are a distinctive characteristic of flowering plants, resulting from the maturation of the ovary after fertilisation.
- If a fruit develops without fertilisation, it's referred to as a parthenocarpic fruit.
- Composition of a Fruit:
A typical fruit consists of a pericarp (fruit wall) and seeds.
The pericarp can be dry or fleshy.
- Differentiation of Pericarp in Fleshy Fruits:
In fleshy fruits with a thick pericarp, it's divided into three layers:
Outer epicarp: The outermost layer.
Middle mesocarp: The edible, fleshy layer.
Inner endocarp: The innermost, often hard layer.
- Drupe Fruits:
Some fruits, like mango and coconut, are categorised as drupes.
Drupes develop from monocarpellary superior ovaries and usually contain a single seed.
Mango:
The pericarp is well-differentiated, comprising an outer thin epicarp, a fleshy edible mesocarp, and a stony hard endocarp.
Coconut:
Also a drupe, the mesocarp is fibrous and surrounds the hard endocarp.