Fruits are known as angiosperms by which flowering plants disseminate their seeds. In a symbiotic relationship which means seed dispersal for one group and nutrition for the other, these edible fruits have long propagated using the movements of humans and animals. So, humans and animals are gradually becoming more dependent on simple fruits as means of food. In world’s agricultural output,simple fruits have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings. The meaning of fruit is the seed associated with fleshy structures of plants that typically are sour or sweet in taste which can be edible such as apples, bananas, grapes,lemons, oranges and strawberries.
Types of Simple Fruits
Simple fruits can be classified based on the nature of pericarp which are as follows –
- Fleshy Fruit – fruit can be derived by single pistil and the pericarp is fleshy, succulent and can be differentiated into epicarp, mesocarp and endocarp. So simple succulent fruit can be subdivided into the following groups which are –
- Berry – fruits which are formed from bicarpellary or multicarpellary and have syncarpous ovary.They have an epicarp which is very thin and the mesocarp and endocarp remain undifferentiated. They have a pulp which is in the seeds and are embedded. For example -tomato, date palm, grapes and brinjal.
- Drupe – these types of fruit develop from monocarpellary and have superior ovaries which are usually one seeded. The pericarp is differentiated into outer skinny epicarp, fleshy and pulpy mesocarp and are hard and stony endocarp around the seed. For example – mango and coconut.
- Pepo – and the fruits which are from tricarpellary and have an inferior ovary. The pericarp has leathery or woody which encloses, fleshy mesocarp with smooth endocarp. Example -cucumber, watermelon bottle round and pumpkin.
- Hesperidium – the fruit which develops from multicarpellary, multilocular , syncarpous and superior ovary. The wall of the fruit is differentiated into leathery epicarp with oil glands and a middle fibrous mesocarp. For example – orange and lemon.
- Pome- The receptacle develops along with the ovary and becomes fleshy, which encloses the true fruit. In pome the epicure is thin skin like and the endocarp is very cartilaginous. For Example – orange, lemon.
- Balausta. – It’s a fleshy fruit developing from the multicarpellary, multilocular inferior ovary whose pericarp which is tough and leathery. Seeds which are attached irregularly with testa being the edible portion. For example – pomegranate.
- Dry fruit – the fruit which develops from a single ovary where the pericarp is dry and its nitdifferentiated into epicarp, mesocarp and endocarp. It’s further subdivided into three types which areas follows –
- Dry dehiscent fruit – the pericarp is basically dry in this simple fruit and it splits open along the sutures which liberates seeds. Few examples of these simple fruits are Calotropis (develops from monocarpellary, and has superior ovary but splits along one suture), Pisum (develops from monocarpellary and has superior ovary but splits through both dorsal and ventral sutures) andBrassica (which also develops from bicarpellary, syncarpous but has superior ovary initially one chambered but subsequently becomes two chambered due to false septum and splits long thetwo suture), Capsella (this simple fruit is very similar to siliqua but is shorter and broader).
- Dry indehiscent fruit – this fruit does not dehisces at maturity and the examples of it areClematis, Delphinium and strawberry (it’s a single seeded dry fruit which develops from single carpel with superior ovary which commonly develops from apocarpous pistil and the fruit wall is free from seed coat), Tridax and Helianthus (which is a single seeded fruit developing from bicarpellary, syncarpous , inferior ovary with reduced scales, hairy or feathery calyx lobes), Oryzae Triticum (it’s a one seeded fruit developing from monocarpellary, superior ovary and the pericarp is inseparable fused with seed), Quercus and Anacardium (it develops from multicarpellary, syncarpous with superior ovary and its hard woody having bony pericarp with one seeded fruit), Acer and Pterocarpus (very dry indehiscent simple fruit which is one seeded and develops into thin winged structure around the fruit) with finally Chenopodium (which develops from bicarpellary, unilocular, syncarpous, superior ovary with pericarp loosely enclosing the seeds).
- Schizocarpic fruit – this kind of fruit which is intermediate between dehiscent and indehiscent fruit. The fruit splitting into number of segments, each containing one or more seeds and the examples are coriander and carrot (the fruit develops from bicarpellary, syncarpous ,inferior ovary and splitting into two one seeded segments), Leucas, Ocimum and Abutilon (the fruit which is developing carpellary, syncarpous and has superior ovary but its splitting into four one-seeded segments), Desmodium and Mimosa (the fruit is derived from the monocarpellary,unilocular ovary and has a leguminous fruit which we constricted between the seeds to form several one-seeded compartments which us separate at maturity), Ricinus and Geranium (it develops from tricarpellary, syncarpous and superior trilocular ovary and it splits into one seeded cocci which remains attached to carpophore).
Conclusion
Hence,Simple fruits develop from one or more carpels and it contains a single ovary which may or may not include additional modified accessory floral structures. Simple succulent fruit examples are peach, plum, cherry and apricot which are fruits with fleshy structure and it’s often good to eat.