Question

Differentiate between perisperm and pericarp

Answer 1

Hint: Part of fruit structure associated with seed and fruit pulp, formed from remains of nucleus and walls of mature ovary.

Complete answer:
Fruits are formed from the mature ovary of a flower. The study of fruit anatomy gives us information about the different internal parts of a fruit. Perisperm is the nutritive material around the embryo sac seen in some seeds. Whereas, Pericarp is the fleshy part of the plant formed from the wall of the mature ovary. Pericarp forms the pulp of the fruit.

Features	Perisperm	Pericarp
Produced from	Remains of the nucleus (ovule) in the seed	Mature ovarian wall
Structure	Dry	Fleshy or dry
Function	No significant importance	Provides protection to fruit and nutrients to seed
Found in	Few seeds	In all seeds
Part of	Seed	Fruit
Example	Black pepper	Mango

Additional Information:
- The formation of pericarp and perisperm is a part of the post-fertilization event in sexually reproducing plants.
- Post fertilization events in sexually reproducing plants include the development of endosperm and embryo, maturation of ovules into seeds, and maturation of ovary into a fruit.
- Seed formation can occur with or without fertilization.
- Apomixis: is the mechanism involved in the formation of seeds without fertilization, seen in angiosperms like grasses.
- Parthenocarpy is the development of seedless fruits without fertilization.
- Polyembryony is the presence of more than one embryo in a seed. Example of orange.
Note: In comparison to perisperm is an endosperm that unlike perisperm develops from the primary endosperm of a nucleus (PEN) and is usually in fluid form or soft. The endosperm contains reserved food materials. Example, seen as water in coconut, pea, and beans.