Study of fruits

What is a fruit?

The fruit is that part of a plant which is in charge of protecting the seeds and guarantee their dispersal.

It becomes as a result of the fertilization inside the carpel, which produce the ripening of the ovary walls that will create the fruit.

Some fruits, however, have another origin, deriving from the flower receptacle or some other parts of the flower.

We have many kinds of fruits but the most typical fruit shows the following parts:

Parts of a fruit and the seed:

A) The pericarp is the external part of a fruit. It is all that surrounds the seed. It is divided into:

• The exocarp is the outer covering. In an apple, for instance, it is what we know as the “skin”.
• The mesocarp is the middle covering. In a peach what we ordinary call the “flesh”.
• The endocarp is the inner covering, in many cases the stiffened part normally covering the seed. In a plum, for example, what we commonly know as the “stone”.

B) The seed is enclosed inside the endocarp

To know more about the fruits

More information about plant cultivation.

Written by Vicente Martínez Centelles Founder of the web and director. Teacher of natural sciences, expert in plants, natural remedies and botanical photography.

15 May, 2023