This document discusses the morphology of fruits. It defines a fruit as a ripened ovary formed after fertilization. Fruits have three layers - the epicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. True fruits develop from the flower's ovary, while pseudo-fruits incorporate other floral parts. Fruits are classified by their structure, development, and dehiscence into simple, aggregate, and composite types. Examples of different fruit types like legumes, follicles, berries, and drupes are provided.

1. MORPHOLOGY OF
FRUITS
Created by using various internet
Resources
for Educational Purpose only
by
Dr. M. Jayakara Bhandary
Associate Professor of Botany
Photo: Dinesh Nayak Vittla Government College
Karwar -581301

2. What is a fruit?
A mature or ripened ovary formed
after fertilization is called fruit.
Ovary wall – Pericarp
Ovule- seed

3. Parts of Fruits
Fruit
Ripened ovary
Pericarp Seed
Covering of ovary Ovule development
Epicarp Mesocarp Endocarp
Outermost Middle layer Innermost layer

4. Types of Fruits
1. True fruits
Ovary of the flowers grows into the
fruit.
2. Peudo-fruits/False fruits
It is often found that other floral parts
such as thalamus, receptacle or calyx,
may grow and form a part of fruit.

5. Types of the fruits
• Depending upon the number of
fruits developing from a flower
(which depends on number of
carpels present in the flowers),
the fruits are classified:

6. Fruit
Composite/
Aggregate
Simple fruit multiple
fruit fruit
Fleshy
Dry fruit
fruit
Dehiscen Indehiscen Schizocarpi
t t c

7. Types of Fruits

8. Simple Fruits
• Single fruit from a flower
– Dry simple
• Dry Dehiscent – dehisce automatically
– Legume
– Follicle
– Siliqua
– Capsule
• Dry Indehiscent- no dehiscence
– Caryopsis
– Achene
– Samara
– Cypsella
– Nut
• Schizocarpic – splitting to many one seeded
bits
– Lomentum
– Cremocarp
– Regma

9. Simple Fruits contd….
• Fleshy simple Fruits
– Drupes
– Berry
– Pepo
– Pome
– Hesperidium

10. Aggregate Fruits
• Flowers with many
apocarpous (free)
ovaries – many fruits
from a single flower:
– Aggregate/Etaerio of
Follicles
– Aggregate/Etaerio of
Achenes
– Aggregate/Etaerio of
Drupes
– Aggregate/Etaerio of
Berries

11. Composite or Multiple Fruits
• One fruit from an entire
inflorescence
– Sorosis – from
spadix/spike
inflorescences (Jackfruit,
Pineapple)
– Syconus – from
hypanthodium (Eg. Fig)

12. Legume
From monocarpellery,
single chambered Ovary.
Seeds in marginal
placentation.
Splits along both
margins.

13. Follicle
Dry monocarpellary, single
chambered,
burst from one suture ,
Ex. Calotropis

14. Siliqua
Split from
below
upwards,
Seeds attached
to central
Replum
Ex. Mustard

15. Silicula
A short siliqua
Ex. Shepherds
purse

16. Capsule
Multilocular, many
seeded fruit.
From bi-
polycarpellary
syncarpous ovary.
Different types
based nature of
dehiscence

19. Caryopsis
One seeded fruit
from
monocarpellery
ovary.
Pericarp fused
with testa.
Ex. Paddy, Grass
fruits

21. Achene
One seeded fruit
from
monocarpellery
ovary.
Pericarp free from
testa.
Ex. Mirabilis

22. Samara
• Winged fruits
one /two seeded fruits
with flattened wing like
out growths
Ex. Terminalia

23. Cypsella
• One seeded
fruit from an
inferior Ovary
• Ex. Sunflower

24. • One
seeded
Nut
fruit with
a hard
covering

25. Schizocarpic Fruits
Intermediate between dehiscent and indehiscent
• Lomentum
– Splitting into
many one
seeded pieces
– Ex: Mimosa,
Ground nut

26. Cremocarp
From bicarpellary syncarpous
bilocular ovary,
2 chambered fruit – one seed in
each chamber.
Splits into two pieces called
mericarps which remain attached
to a central stalk called
carpophore.
Ex. Coriandrum, Fennel

27. Regma
From trilocular ovary,
3-chambered with
seeds in axile
placentation.
Each chamber with
single seed separates,
Remains attached to
the central
carpophore.
Ex. Castor

29. Fleshy Fruits - Drupes

32. Berry

34. Pepo

36. Hesperidium

38. Aggregate of Follicles

39. Aggregate of Berries

40. Multiple/composite fruit
Composed of a number of closely associated
flowers aggregate together is called multiple fruit.
1. Sorosis
Developing from spike in which flowers fused by
sepals and becomes woody.
Pineapple
2. Syconus
Developing from hypanthodium, pear-shaped which
encloses number of minute male and female
flowers.
Banyan, peepul, fig.