Fructification

Fructification

Fructification (Latin: "fructificatio") is a term used in the plant morphology to denote the generative parts of the plant (flower and fruit) (as opposed to its vegetative parts: trunk, roots and leaves). Sometimes it is applied more broadly to the generative parts of gymnosperms, ferns, horsetails, and lycophytes, though they produce neither fruit nor flower.

Since the works of Andrea Caesalpino (1519-1603) the characters of fructfication have been extensively used as a basis for the scientific classification of plants. Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) raised the description of the parts of fructification to an unprecedented level of precision. He insisted that genera and the higher groups of plants must be characterised in terms of the fructification alone without using vegetative parts (which can be used only to characterise the species within genera). At that time it was believed that all plants have flowers and fruits. It was not until the nineteenth century that the important difference between seeds and spores was recognised and the use of terms flower and fruit was restricted to the flowering plants (angiosperms).

Later plant taxonomists used a more balanced approach and re-introduced the use of the vegetative parts of the plant as a basis for characters at different levels of taxonomic hierarchy.

ee also

* Scientific classification


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  • fructification — [ fryktifikasjɔ̃ ] n. f. • XIVe; bas lat. fructificatio 1 ♦ Formation, production de fruits. Époque, saison de la fructification. Ensemble des fruits que porte un végétal. Une belle fructification. Les « vignes dont les fructifications grêles et… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Fructification — Fruc ti*fi*ca tion, n. [L. fructificatio: cf. F. fructification.] 1. The act of forming or producing fruit; the act of fructifying, or rendering productive of fruit; fecundation. [1913 Webster] The prevalent fructification of plants. Sir T. Brown …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fructification — du Koelreuteria paniculata. La fructification est un phénomène phénologique transformant par fécondation les fleurs en fruits. Chez les arbres fruitiers, la fructification peut être accélérée par l arcure ou le …   Wikipédia en Français

  • fructification — fructification. См. плодоношение. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • Fructification — (v. lat.), 1) das Fruchttragen, der Act u. die Zeit, wo eine Pflanze ihre Früchte ausbildet; 2) (Foecundatio), so v.w. Befruchtung. Daher Fructificationsorgane, Organe, welche zur Hervorbringung keimfähiger Samen od. Sporen dienen, s.… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Fructification — Fructification, lat. dtsch., Befruchtung, Fruchtbildung; fructuariae. Fruchtpflanzen; fructuarius, Nutznießer; fructus, Frucht, Nutzen; ususfructus. Nutznießung …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • FRUCTIFICATION — s. f. T. de Botan. Formation, production des fruits ; ou Le résultat, le produit de cette formation. Quand la fructification s opère. L époque de la fructification. Fructification lente, précoce. Les parties, les organes de la fructification. La… …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835)

  • fructification — (fru kti fi ka sion) s. f. 1°   Terme de botanique. Production de fruits. •   Les gens de la campagne vont ramasser les fleurs qui naissent sur les palmiers mâles, ils les attachent aux branches des palmiers femelles ou en secouent la poussière… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • fructification — /fruk teuh fi kay sheuhn, frook , froohk /, n. 1. act of fructifying; the fruiting of a plant, fungus, etc. 2. the fruit itself. 3. the organs of fruiting; fruiting body. [1605 15; < LL fructification (s. of fructificatio) a bearing of fruit,… …   Universalium

  • fructification — /ˌfrʌktəfəˈkeɪʃən/ (say .fruktuhfuh kayshuhn), /frʊk / (say frook ) noun 1. the act of fructifying; the fruiting of a plant. 2. the fruit of a plant. 3. the organs of fruiting. {Late Latin frūctificātiōn , stem of frūctificātiō a bearing fruit} …  

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