Morphology of the Fruit

Introduction to Fruits

·         Fruit is the ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant

·         Fruits may contain one or more seeds

·         A fruit develops from one or more carpels

·         After fertilization in the flowering stage, the ovary and sometimes accessory parts develop into the fruit

·         In some species, fruits may be formed without fertilization i.e. parthenocapy

·         Accessory parts including sepals, petals, stamens, receptacle, pedicel, peduncle and inflorescence axis may be incorporated and become part of the fruit for instance in apples and pineapple

References

Trees and Evans (15^th Edition) Pharmacognosy, W. B. Saunders