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25.2: Dichotomous Key to Common Fruits

  • Page ID
    33184
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    Note

    If the fleshy part of the fruit is composed of something other than the ovary, it is an accessory fruit

    1. Fruit from one carpel (can be several fused together) of one flower ........[Simple Fruit].... 2

    1. Fruit from more than one free carpel in a single flower or from an inflorescence .... 16

    2. Fleshy at maturity ....................................... 3

    2. Dry at maturity ............................................ 8

    Fleshy Fruits

    3. Thin exocarp, fleshy mesocarp, stony endocarp surrounding single, large seed ............... Drupe

    3. Fruit not as described above............................................................................................... 4

    4. Seeds in a linear order, separate from ovary wall, pericarp splits on two seams ...Legume (immature)

    4. Fruit not as described above.................................................................................. 5

    5. Papery endocarp forms a core. Derived from a perigynous flower..........Pome

    5. Endocarp fleshy (not a papery core) ...................................................... 6

    6. Thin exocarp, fleshy mesocarp, one to many seeds  ........................... Berry

    6. Exocarp thickened and leathery (modified berries) ………......... 7

    7. Exocarp and mesocarp form leathery rind, locules filled with juice-filled trichomes ……...Hesperidium

    7. Exocarp forms tough skin/rind, thick mesocarp, not divided into separate locules ........... Pepo

    Dry Fruits

    8. Dehiscent (splits open at maturity), usually many seeds ....... 9

    8. Indehiscent (does not split open), usually one seeded .......... 12

    9. Derived from a carpel with one locule ............................. 10

    9. Derived from a carpel with more than one locule ............ 11 

    10. Dehiscent along one seam .......................... Follicle

    10. Dehiscent along two seams ........................ Legume

    11. From two locules with a central partition .............. Silique (elongate) or silicle (round)

    11. From more than two locules.................................. Capsule

    12. Ovary wall extends to form a wing .................. Samara

    12. Fruit not winged ............................................... 13

    13.   Outer wall not especially thick or hard, seed small ... 14

    13.   Outer wall hardened, seed relatively large ................ 15

    14. Seed not tightly attached to pericarp ............... Achene

    14. Seed fused to pericarp, grains ........................ Caryopsis

    15. Stony pericarp surrounds one large seed .............................................. Nut

    15. Relatively thin exocarp, fibrous mesocarp, single large seed .............. (dry) Drupe

    Aggregates & Multiple Fruits

    16. Derived from one flower with many free carpels ...... Aggregate Fruit

    16. Derived from an inflorescence (many florets) ........... Multiple Fruit

    Contributors and Attributions


    This page titled 25.2: Dichotomous Key to Common Fruits is shared under a CC BY-NC license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Maria Morrow (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative) .