Compound fruit

Compound fruit

A compound fruit is one that develops from several ovaries in either a single flower or multiple flowers. In contrast, a simple fruit develops from one ovary.
Longitudinal section of raspberry flower.gif

  • Compound fruits may be aggregate fruits, in which one flower contains several ovaries, each of which develops into a small fruit. These small fruits are joined tightly together to make a larger fruit. An example of this is a raspberry. Each fleshy lobe in a raspberry is actually an individual fruit, but they are joined at their bases. Despite having the suffix "berry," aggregates cannot be berries, which are composed of a single ovary.
  • Compound fruits may also be multiple fruits, in which several flowers, each with an ovary, develop into small fruits that are clustered or fused together into a larger fruit. An example of this is a pineapple. Each section of a pineapple was an individual fruit from an individual flower, but they have fused to form the pineapple. Another example is the fig.

Grapes grow in clusters, but are not compound fruits. Each grape is grown from one ovary in one flower, and each grape remains an independent fruit. an aggregate fruit or etaerio is a group of simple fruitlets that develop from the free ovaries of a single flower.

A List of Compound Fruits


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • compound fruit — compound fruit, = collective fruit. (Cf. ↑collective fruit) …   Useful english dictionary

  • Fruit — For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). Several culinary fruits …   Wikipedia

  • Fruit anatomy — Longitudinal section of female flower of squash (courgette), showing ovary, ovules, pistil, and petals. Fruit anatomy is the internal structure of fruit, the mature ovary or ovaries from one or more flowers. In fleshy fruits, the outer and often… …   Wikipedia

  • compound — compound1 compoundable, adj. compoundedness, n. compounder, n. adj. /kom pownd, kom pownd /; n. /kom pownd/; v. /keuhm pownd , kom pownd/, adj. 1. composed of two or more parts, elements, or ingredients: Soap is a compound substance. 2 …   Universalium

  • compound — I com•pound adj. [[t]ˈkɒm paʊnd, kɒmˈpaʊnd[/t]] n. [[t]ˈkɒm paʊnd[/t]] v. [[t]kəmˈpaʊnd, ˈkɒm paʊnd[/t]] adj. 1) composed of two or more parts, elements, or ingredients: Soap is a compound substance[/ex] 2) having or involving two or more actions …   From formal English to slang

  • Compound (migrant labour) — A migrant worker compound is a key institution in a system such as that which regulated labour on mines in South Africa from the later nineteenth century. The tightly controlled closed compound which came to typify the phenomenon in that country… …   Wikipedia

  • Multiple fruit — Mulberry is a kind of multiple fruit. Multiple fruits are fruits that are formed from a cluster of flowers (called an inflorescence). Each flower in the inflorescence produces a fruit, but these mature into a single mass.[1] Examples are the… …   Wikipedia

  • Nut (fruit) — Hazelnuts from the Common Hazel Chestnuts …   Wikipedia

  • collective fruit — noun (botany) A multiple fruit, one derived from several flowers, eg fig, mulberry • • • Main Entry: ↑collect * * * collective fruit, a fruit composed of a cluster of ripened ovaries produced by several flowers, such as the mulberry and… …   Useful english dictionary

  • bel fruit — ▪ fruit bel also spelled  Bael,  also called  Bengal Quince        (species Aegle marmelos), fruit of the bel tree of the family Rutaceae, found wild or cultivated throughout India. The trees bear strong spines; alternate, compound leaves, each… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”