NEET Biology Notes Morphology of Flowering Plants Fruit
Fruit
Fruit
The fruit is a mature or ripened ovary, developed after fertilisation. If a fruit is formed without fertilisation of the ovary, it is called parthenocarpi’c fruit. The fruit consists of a wall or pericarp and seeds. The pericarp may be dry or fleshy. When pericarp is thick and fleshy, it is differentiated into the outer epicarp, the middle mesocarp and an inner endocarp.
In mango and coconut, the fruit is unknown as drupe. They develop from monocarpellary superior ovaries and are one seeded. In mango, the pericarp is well differentiated into an outer thin epicarp, middle fleshy mesocarp and an inner stony hard endocarp. In coconut, the mesocarp is fibrous.
If a fruit develop from the ovary, it is known as the tree fruit. But sometimes some other floral parts participate in the formation of fruit, such fruits ate known as false fruits, e.g. thalamus in apple is modified to form fruit.
Floral Formula
After describing various parts of plants (roots, stems, leaves inflorescence and flower parts), a floral diagram and floral formula are presented. Following symbols are used in constructing a floral formula.
