Question

Caryopsis fruit is found in -
(a) Wheat
(b) Pea
(c) Gram
(d) Lentil

Answer 1

Hint: A caryopsis is a simple unicarpellate dry fruit where the pericarp is fused with the thin seed coat. The fruits are also known as grains. They are also characteristic of the Poaceae family.

Complete answer:
Caryopsis is a form of a simple and dry fruit that is unicarpellate and indehiscent in nature. It is characteristic of the Poaceae family, hence observed in wheat, rice, and corn.
- It resembles an achene, which is a simple, unicarpellate, and indehiscent dry fruit but has a single seed that fills the pericarp that does not adhere to it. In caryopsis, the pericarp is fused with the thin seed coat.
- They are also known as grains or cereals.
-In caryopsis, the ovary wall is united with the seed coat, and fused into a single unit.
-It is formed from a single carpel and it does not open at maturity. -All the cereal grains have caryopses except buckwheat.
- The pea or Pisum sativum has a legume fruit that is simple and dehiscent.
- Gram is a collective term for many whole pulses including chickpea, mung bean, urad, soybean, etc. that are used for consumption. They are also examples of legume fruits.
- Lentils are edible legumes, also known as dals, which are plants that have lens-shaped seeds. The seeds generally grow as two seeds in a pod.
- Other types of fruits are berries, capsules, follicles, drupes, loments, nuts, schizocarps, pomes, siliques, etc.

So, the correct answer is ‘Wheat’.

Note:
A grain is defined as a small, hard seed that does not have a hull or a fruit layer.
- The hulls in these grains are the flower bracts and are removed during processing.
- Poaceae belong to the order Poales and kingdom Plantae.