Question

What are fleshy fruits? Describe two different types of simple fleshy fruits.

Answer 1

Hint: The fruit is a characteristic feature of the angiosperms that are flowering plants. It is a ripened or mature ovary. It is developed after the fertilization process. Fruits are widely consumed by different animals as well as human beings as fruits contain a high amount of nutrients and these are the major sources of various vitamins.

Complete answer:
There are mostly three types of fruits, namely
i) Simple fruits. Examples: apple, papaya, plum, etc.
ii) Aggregate fruits. Examples: blackberry, strawberry, etc.
iii) Multiple fruits. Examples:pineapple, mulberry, etc.

> The simple fruit is developed from a single matured or ripened ovary in a single flower. They are of two types:
- Fleshy fruits: In these fruits, the pericarp gets fleshy at the time of maturity of the ovary. It contains a large amount of soft succulent tissue. Examples: tomato, olive, apricot, etc.
- Dry fruits: They have thin papery, leathery or woody walls around their fruit. Examples: raisins, dates, etc.

> Simple fleshy fruits are of many types, namely a) berry, b) drupe, c) pome d) hip e) pepo, etc. Few of these are explained below :
- Berry: Berries are developed from a single ovary. The wall of the ovary of the carpel gets completely fleshy at the time of maturity. The number of carpels in each species differs from one to several. Their skins may be thin and tender or thin and strong. The number of seeds also changes from one per carpel to many per carpel. The seeds of all berries are secured in the fleshy tissue of the carpel. Example: Grapes and tomatoes.

- Drupe: These fruits are fleshy and have a hardcover containing a seed. Drupes are shielded by a thin skin, which is derived from the outer tissue layer of the ovary. The soft fleshy tissue under the skin comes from the middle layer of the ovary and the hard stony pit comes from the inner layer of the ovary. Coconuts are drupes with fibrous walls.

Note: The fruit has two main regions namely seed and pericarp which is typically the edible part. The epicarp is further divided into three main walls namely epicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. The storage of fleshy fruits is difficult as compared with dry fruits due to the presence of water content in fleshy fruits. They can be dried properly for long-term storage.