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