Question

The edible dry fruit 'chilgoza' is
A. Fruit of Cycas
B. Fruit of Pinus gerardiana
C. Seed of Cycas
D. Seed of Pinus gerardiana

Answer 1

Hint: Chilgoza is a Persian name for pine. These seeds are native to the North Western Himalayas in Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan and in some North West countries of India.

Complete answer:
Biological nomenclature of Pine is Pinus gerardiana. In each pine, there are forty nuts present. Chilgoza is also commonly known as pinyon pine nuts, cedar nuts, pignoli, pinon nuts, etc.
Angiospermic plants include higher organisms. They bear flowers as their reproductive structure and angiosperms are also known as the flowering plants. Inside the flower, female gamete is present inside the ovule while ovule is itself enclosed in the walls of the ovaries. After fertilization, the ovary ripens and converts into a fruit while ovules after fertilization convert to the seeds.
But Cycas and Pinus do not belong to the angiospermic plants. They come under gymnosperms in which flowers are absent and the ovules present are naked that is they are not enclosed in the walls of the ovaries. So, in the absence of an ovary, no fruit will be formed in case of gymnosperms. Thus, the seeds of Pinus gerardiana serve as the nut.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D).

Note: Chilgoza is a pine nut. The word nut is used for a fruit that is dry, not juicy. Pine does not have fruits, so their seeds are called the nuts. The pine nut is edible and is a rich source of carbohydrates and proteins.