Question

Geocarpic fruit is a
(a) Carrot
(b) Radish
(c) Groundnut
(d) Turnip

Answer 1

Hint: It is a kind of false fruit arising from some parts of the plants other than the ovary.

Complete answer:
Geocarpic fruit is groundnut. Geocarpy refers to an extremely rare means of plant reproduction. Here the plants produce via diaspores within the soil. This has evolved as an effective means of ensuring a suitable environment for the plant's offspring.
Geocarpic means production or ripening of the fruit beneath the surface of the ground like the peanuts. Peanut is also named Hypogea, which means under the earth. After pollination, the flower stalk elongates, and then it bends until the ovary touches the ground. Stalk growth continues and then it pushes the ovary underground, where the mature fruit develops into a legume pod. Thus peanut a classical example of geocarpic fruit. Geocarpy is generally seen in tropical or semi-desert areas. Some geocarpic species are found in the families Convolvulaceae, Moraceae, Cucurbitaceae, Araceae, Begoniaceae, Brassicaceae (Cruciferae), Fabaceae (Leguminosae), and Rubiaceae. The best-known example of Geocarpy is the peanut, that is, Arachis hypogaea.

So, the correct answer is ‘Groundnut’.

Note: For reproduction, geocarpic plants bend their stems so that the fruit can be embedded in the soil but the fruit remains attached to the plant. Peanuts are self-pollinating plants, they do not require outside aid, like bees or other insects to carry their pollen from one plant to another during reproduction. After the seed is planted, the first flowers begin to appear within four to six weeks and then they continue blooming for six or more weeks.