Question

Differentiate : Syncarpous and apocarpous condition.

Answer 1

Hint:- A flower is a modified shoot. Generally, the flower has a short or long stalk which is called a pedicel. The upper part of the pedicel is swollen, which is called the thalamus. Floral leaves are present on it. There are four types of floral leaves- sepal, petal, stamen and carpel. Sepals and petals are the accessory organs while gynoecium and androecium are the essential reproductive organs.

Complete Answer:-The gynoecium is the female reproductive organ. The unit of the gynoecium in the flowering plants is called pistil or carpel. The carpel is also known as megasporophyll. The carpel is differentiated into three distinct regions- stigma, style and ovary. The free end of carpel which serves as a landing platform for pollen grains is called stigma. A long narrow tubular structure is present between stigma and ovary is called style. The basal swollen part of the carpel is called the ovary.
The number of carpels varies in different flowers. They may be fused or free. The flowers with free carpels are called ‘apocarpous flowers’ while the flowers with fused carpels are called ‘syncarpous flowers’. On maturity, apocarpous flowers produce aggregate fruitlets while syncarpous flowers produce simple fruits. Ovarian cavity (locule) is present in the ovary. In the apocarpous gynoecium, only one locule is present (unilocular condition) while in syncarpous gynoecium the ovary may be unilocular or multilocular.
Thus only one placenta occurs in apocarpous gynoecium while more than one placenta is found in syncarpous gynoecium. Therefore apocarpous gynoecium is considered a primitive feature while syncarpous gynoecium is considered an advanced feature.

Note:- There are three major types of fruits named as- simple fruits, aggregate fruits and composite fruits. Simple fruits are produced from one flower. They are produced from monocarpellary or multicarpellary and syncarpous ovaries. Aggregate fruits are produced from one flower. They are produced from bicarpellary to multicarpellary but always apocarpous ovaries. Composite fruits are produced from the entire inflorescence. The common examples of apocarpous gynoecium are rose, lotus and michelia, while that of syncarpous gynoecium are papaver and hibiscus.