Fruit Structure and Function
water drift seeds
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pericarp
Technical term for the entire fruit wall, composed of one or more of the following: exocarp, mesocarp, endocarp.
endocarp
The innermost layer of the fruit wall, the pericarp; can be tough like pits, or thin
mesocarp
The middle layer of the fruit wall.
hypanthium
a cuplike or tubular enlargement of the receptacle of a flower, loosely surrounding the ovary; creates false berries with achenes inside
fleshy fruits
a fruit classification that are eaten during the natural seed distribution process; has at least one tissue layer of water-filled parenchyma cells
dry fruits
a fruit classification that is not typically eaten by the natural seed-dispersing animals; can have papery tissues
multiple fruit
a fruit formed by the crowding together of individual fruit of an entire inflorescence
silicles
a short silique usually having a length less than three times its width
nut
a simple, dry fruit that has a stony wall and is single seeded; acorn
follicle
a simple, dry fruit that splits open along one suture to release its seeds; milkweed
legume
a simple, dry fruit that splits open along two sutures to release seeds; green bean
pomes
an accessory fruit in which the edible outer flesh arises from the greatly swollen receptacle (accessory fruit) and not from the carpels (true fruit); pears, apples
elaiosomes
are fleshy structures that are attached to the outside od seeds of many plant species that attract and feed ants
mast years
conspicuous years in which a huge number of seeds/fruits are produced
myrmecochory
describes the mutualism where ants disperse seeds (only major dispersion mode that uses insects)
silique
elongated fruit type that consist of a central membrane flanked by two carpels with about 30 seeds in between; have ballistic seed dispersal
drupes
fleshy fruit with a stony endocarp; cherries, peaches, almonds
true fruit
fruit that developed only from carpel tissue, not containing any other tissue.
dehiscence
is the spontaneous opening at maturity of a plant structure, such as a fruit, anther, or sporangium, to release its contents.
achene
small, dry, indehiscent one-seeded fruit with a thin wall that can be covered by a hypanthium to form a false berry
physical antiherbivore mechanisms
stony endocarp; strong seed coat that resists chewing; pass thru guts unharmed
boom or bust seed production
strategy used by tree species with vertebrate dispersal agents who also eat seeds; there is a pattern of regular years and mast years (shrink population and then boom population
exocarp
Outermost layer of the fruit wall; in fleshy fruit, the rind or peel; could be just skin
lectins? cyanogens? saponins? alkaloids?; glands on exocarp; stored in mesocarp
chemical antiherbivore mechanisms?
frugivores
fruit-eating animals (their ONLY source of food)
granary tree
the tree in which woodpeckers bore holes to store acorns
wind dispersed fruits
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accessory fruit
A fruit that contains nonovarian tissue.
simple fruit
A fruit that develops from a single carpel or the fused carpels of a single flower.
fruit
In angiosperms, the structure that forms from carpels and associated tissues after fertilization; help to disperse seeds to good germination sites and protect seeds from herbivory
