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.The term
fruit has different meanings depending on context. In
botany, a fruit is the
ripened Ovary (plants)—together with seeds—of a
flowering plant. In many
species, the fruit incorporates the ripened ovary and surrounding tissues. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds. In cuisine, when discussing fruit as food, the term usually refers to those plant fruits that are sweet and fleshy, examples of which include
plums,
apples and orange (fruit). However, a great many common vegetables, as well as nuts and cereals, are the fruit of the plant species they come from.No single terminology really fits the enormous variety that is found among plant fruits.{{cite book |last= Schlegel |first=Rolf H J |title= Encyclopedic Dictionary of Plant Breeding and Related Subjects |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1560229500&id=7J-3fD67RqwC&pg=PA177&lpg=PA177&vq=fruit&dq=acarpous&sig=LUVMFeCyejNiIUKgcwnMLl32wGs|date=
January 1 2003 ]) is sometimes applied to a fruit like the fig (a
multiple-accessory fruit; see below) or to a plant structure that resembles a fruit but is not derived from a flower or flowers. Some
gymnosperms, such as Taxaceae, have fleshy
arils that resemble fruits and some
junipers have
berry-like, fleshy cones. The term "fruit" has also been inaccurately applied to the seed-containing female conifer cone of many
Pinophyta.
With most fruits
pollination is a vital part of fruit culture, and the lack of knowledge of
pollinators and
pollenizers can contribute to poor crops or poor quality crops. In a few species, the fruit may develop in the absence of pollination/fertilization, a process known as
parthenocarpy.{{cite book ] [1996 |id= ISBN 0-521-33321-0|pages=pp. 87-88--> Such fruits are seedless. A plant that does not produce fruit is known as
acarpous, meaning "without fruit".{{cite book |last= Schlegel |title= Encyclopedic Dictionary |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1560229500&id=7J-3fD67RqwC&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=acarpous&sig=pJ78oY2DgzCvgtcjbpsX6pq-eVU|pages=p. 5-->
Botanic fruit and culinary fruit
es and various
Squash (fruit).Many foods are botanically fruit but are treated as vegetables in
cooking. These include
cucurbitaceaes (e.g.,
Squash (plant),
pumpkin, and cucumber), tomato, peas,
beans,
maize, eggplant, and sweet bell pepper, spices, such as allspice and Chili pepper.Occasionally, though rarely, a culinary "fruit" will not be a true fruit in the botanical sense. For example,
rhubarb may be considered a fruit, though only the astringent leaf is edible. In the commercial world, European Union rules define carrot as a fruit for the purposes of measuring the proportion of "fruit" contained in carrot jam.{{cite web]
2001| publisher = Official Journal of the European Communities| pages = L 10/72--> In the culinary sense, a fruit is usually any sweet tasting plant product associated with seed(s), a vegetable is any savoury or less sweet plant product, and a nut any hard, oily, and shelled plant product.For a [Supreme Court of the United States ruling on the matter, see Nix v. Hedden.
Although a Nut (fruit) is a type of fruit, it is also a popular term for list of edible seeds, such as
peanuts (which are actually a
legume) and pistachios.{{cite book ] grain is a fruit termed a
caryopsis. However, the fruit wall is very thin and fused to the seed coat so almost all of the edible grain is actually a
seed. Therefore, cereal grains, such as maize, wheat and
rice are better considered edible seeds, although some references list them as fruits.{{cite book ] nuts,
ginkgo nuts, and
juniper berries.
Fruit development
A fruit is a ripened ovary. After the ovule in an ovary is
fertilized in a process known as pollination, the ovary begins to ripen. The ovule develops into a
seed and the ovary wall
pericarp may become fleshy (as in berries or drupes), or form a hard outer covering (as in nuts). In some cases, the sepals,
petals and/or stamens and style of the flower fall off. Fruit development continues until the seeds have matured. With some multiseeded fruits the extent to which the flesh develops is proportional to the number of fertilized ovules.
The wall of the fruit, developed from the ovary wall of the flower, is called the
pericarp. The
pericarp is often differentiated into two or three distinct layers called the
exocarp (outer layer - also called epicarp),
mesocarp (middle layer), and
endocarp (inner layer). In some fruits, especially simple fruits derived from an
Ovary (plants)#Inferior ovary, other parts of the flower (such as the floral tube, including the
petals,
sepals, and
stamens), fuse with the ovary and ripen with it. The plant hormone
ethylene causes ripening. When such other floral parts are a significant part of the fruit, it is called an
accessory fruit. Since other parts of the flower may contribute to the structure of the fruit, it is important to study flower structure to understand how a particular fruit forms.
Fruits are so varied in form and development, that it is difficult to devise a classification scheme that includes all known fruits. Many common terms for seeds and fruit are incorrectly applied, a fact that complicates understanding of the terminology.
Seeds are ripened ovules; fruits are the ripened ovaries or carpels that contain the seeds. To these two basic definitions can be added the clarification that in botanical terminology, a
Nut (fruit) is a type of fruit and not another term for seed.
There are three basic types of fruits:
#Simple fruit
#Aggregate fruit
#Multiple fruit
Simple fruit
Simple fruits can be either dry or fleshy and result from the ripening of a simple or compound ovary with only one Carpel. Dry fruits may be either
dehiscent (opening to discharge seeds), or indehiscent (not opening to discharge seeds).{{cite book |last= Schlegel |title= Encyclopedic Dictionary |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=7J-3fD67RqwC&vid=ISBN1560229500&dq=acarpous&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&sig=mFka90ytIY0ymsbOk40-U--1h28|pages=p. 123--> Types of dry, simple fruits (with examples) are:
Fruits in which part or all of the
pericarp (fruit wall) is fleshy at maturity are
simple fleshy fruits. Types of fleshy, simple fruits (with examples) are:
===Aggregate fruit=== flowers. Note the multiple
pistils, each of which will produce a druplet. Each flower will become a blackberry-like aggregate fruit.
An aggregate fruit, or
etaerio, develops from a flower with numerous simple pistils.{{cite book ], whose simple fruits are termed
drupelets because each is like a small
drupe attached to the receptacle. In some
bramble fruits (such as blackberry) the receptacle is elongated and part of the ripe fruit, making the blackberry an
aggregate-accessory fruit. The strawberry is also an aggregate-accessory fruit, only one in which the seeds are contained in achenes. In all these examples, the fruit develops from a single flower with numerous pistils.
Multiple fruit
A multiple fruit is one formed from a cluster of flowers (called an
inflorescence). Each flower produces a fruit, but these mature into a single mass.{{cite book ], edible fig, mulberry, osage-orange, and
breadfruit.
, flowers are produced regularly along the stem and it is possible to see together examples of flowering, fruit development, and fruit ripening
In the photograph on the right, stages of flowering and fruit development in the noni or Indian mulberry (
Morinda citrifolia) can be observed on a single branch. First an inflorescence of white flowers called a head is produced. After
Fertilization#Fertilisation in plants, each flower develops into a drupe, and as the drupes expand, they become
connate (merge) into a
multiple fleshy fruit called a
syncarpet.
There are also many dry multiple fruits, e.g.
- Tuliptree, multiple of samaras.
- Sweet gum, multiple of capsules.
- Sycamore and teasel, multiple of achenes.
- Magnolia, multiple of follicles.
Seedless fruits
Seedlessness is an important feature of some fruits of commerce. Commercial
cultivars of bananas and
pineapples are examples of
seedless fruits. Some cultivars of citrus fruits (especially navel Orange (fruit)s and
mandarin oranges), table
grapes,
grapefruit, and
watermelons are valued for their seedlessness. In some species, seedlessness is the result of
parthenocarpy, where fruits set without fertilization. Parthenocarpic fruit set may or may not require pollination. Most seedless citrus fruits require a pollination stimulus; bananas and pineapples do not. Seedlessness in table grapes results from the abortion of the embryonic plant that is produced by fertilization, a phenomenon known as
stenospermocarpy which requires normal pollination and fertilization.
Seed dissemination
Variations in fruit structures largely depend on the Biological dispersal of the seeds they contain. This dispersal can be achieved by animals, wind, water, or explosive dehiscence.
Some fruits have coats covered with spikes or hooked burrs, either to prevent themselves from being eaten by animals or to stick to the hairs, feathers or legs of animals, using them as dispersal agents. Examples include
cocklebur and unicorn plant.
The sweet flesh of many fruits is "deliberately" appealing to animals, so that the seeds held within are eaten and "unwittingly" carried away and deposited at a distance from the parent. Likewise, the nutritious, oily kernels of
Nut (fruit) are appealing to rodents (such as squirrels) who
hoarding them in the soil in order to avoid starving during the winter, thus giving those seeds that remain uneaten the chance to Germination and grow into a new plant away from their parent.
Other fruits are elongated and flattened out naturally and so become thin, like wings or helicopter blades, e.g. maple, tuliptree and elm. This is an
evolutionary mechanism to increase dispersal distance away from the parent via wind. Other wind-dispersed fruit have tiny
parachutes, e.g. dandelion and salsify.
Coconut fruits can float thousands of miles in the ocean to spread seeds. Some other fruits that can disperse via water are nipa palm and screw pine.
Some fruits fling seeds substantial distances (up to 100 m in
sandbox tree) via explosive dehiscence or other mechanisms, e.g.
impatiens and
squirting cucumber.
Uses
s are one of many fruits that can be easily stewed.Many hundreds of fruits, including fleshy fruits like
apple,
peach, pear, kiwifruit, watermelon and mango are commercially valuable as
human food, eaten both fresh and as
jams,
marmalade and other food preservations. Fruits are also found commonly in such manufactured foods as cookies, muffins, yoghurt,
ice cream,
cakes, and many more. Many fruits are used to make beverages, such as fruit juices (orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, etc) or alcoholic beverages, such as
wine or brandy.{{cite book ], bell pepper,
eggplant,
okra, Squash (fruit), pumpkin,
green bean,
cucumber and zucchini.{{cite book ] fruit is pressed for
olive oil.
Apples are often used to make
vinegar. Spices like vanilla, paprika, allspice and black pepper are derived from berries.
Nutritional value
Fruits are generally high in fiber and
vitamin C.
Nonfood uses
Because fruits have been such a major part of the human diet, different cultures have developed many different uses for various fruits that they do not depend on as being edible. Many dry fruits are used as decorations or in dried flower arrangements, such as unicorn plant,
Lotus (genus), wheat,
annual honesty and milkweed. Ornamental trees and shrubs are often cultivated for their colorful fruits, including
holly, pyracantha, viburnum, skimmia, beautyberry and cotoneaster.
Fruits of opium poppy are the source of the drugs
opium and morphine.
Osage orange fruits are used to repel cockroaches. Bayberry fruits provide a wax often used to make candles. Many fruits provide
natural dyes, e.g. walnut,
sumac, cherry and
mulberry. Dried gourds are used as decorations, water jugs, bird houses, musical instruments, cups and dishes. Pumpkins are carved into Jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween. The spiny fruit of
burdock or cocklebur were the inspiration for the invention of Velcro.
Coir is a fiber from the fruit of coconut that is used for doormats, brushes, mattresses, floortiles, sacking, insulation and as a growing medium for container plants. The shell of the coconut fruit is used to make souvenir heads, cups, bowls, musical instruments and bird houses.{{cite web| url = http://www.coconut.com/museum/uses.html| title = The Many Uses of the Coconut| accessdate =2006-09-14| publisher = The Coconut Museum-->
See also
Notes
External links
- Images of fruit development from flowers at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
- Fruit and seed dispersal images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
- Fruit Facts from California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc.
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