Kinds of Fruits

A true fruit is a ripened ovary that develops after fertilization. Ovules develop into seeds and the ovary wall matures into fruit wall which is now called pericarp. The pericarp may be thick or thin.

In fleshy fruits like mango, pericarp is thick and differentiated into three regions:

• (a) epicarp forms the skin of the fruit 
• (b) mesocarp, middle pulpy region
• (c) endocarp inner hard and stony (coconut, mango) or often thin membranes (orange)

In dry fruits pericarp, is thin, dry, papery or thick and woody but not divided into three regions.

Sometimes along with ovary other floral parts like thalamus, receptacle or calyx may develop as part of fruit, such fruits are-called false fruits. For example: apple, pear (thalamus), fig (receptacle).

Parthenocarpic Fruit - It is a fruit that develops without fertilization. It is seedless or has non-viable seeds. Example: banana, grapes.

Types of Fruits

There are three basic types:

1. Simple fruit - Develops from single mono-to polycarpellary, syncarpous (fused) ovary. Example: pea, tomato

2. Aggregate fruit - Collection (etaerio) of simple fruits or fruitlets on same thalamus developing from polycarpellary, apocarpous (free carpels) ovary. Example: Calotropis and Ranunculus

3. Composite or multiple fruit - Fruit develops from a number of flowers juxtaposed together or from inflorescence. Example: mulberry, pineapple