Question

Cotyledons are edible in the drupe of -
(a) Mango
(b) Almond
(c) Coconut
(d) Zizyphus

Answer 1

Hint: A drupe is a fleshy fruit with thin skin and a seed in the center with a hard covering. Some of the plants inside the hardened stone contain an edible seed.

Complete step by step answer:
- The term fruit is used for the ripened ovary of a plant. It forms a protective covering for the seed and the embryo of a plant. As the seed develops, the fruit also develops.

- A drupe is an example of a fruit with a thin epicarp, an indehiscent mesocarp, and a hardened endocarp. The seed inside the covering is edible in the case of almonds.
- When the endocarp of the almond fruit is broken, the cotyledons revealed are edible.

Additional information:
- Generally, a fruit has three parts - exocarp or the outermost skin/covering, mesocarp or the middle part of the fruit, and the endocarp or the inner part of the fruit. The mesocarp is generally the fleshy and edible part of the fruit. In other cases, the endocarp is the edible part.
- Mango has an edible mesocarp.
- Coconut has an edible endosperm.
- Zizyphus or Jujube has an edible epicarp and mesocarp.
So, the correct answer is ‘Almond’.

Note:
- Dehiscent fruits release their seeds into the environment readily (like peas) while indehiscent fruits rely on the decay for the spread.
- The brown layer of the almond seed is the seed coat and the white cotyledons form the embryo.
- Almonds are commonly known as nuts but scientifically are not; they are drupes. Other examples of drupes are pistachio, cherries, plums, etc.