Accessory Fruit

Introduction: What Makes a Fruit a Fruit?

Have you ever questioned if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable? In actuality, many plants that we consider to be vegetables are actually fruits. Fruits include several varieties such as cucumbers, peppers, and even peanuts.

Tomatoes are considered fruits in botany because they contain seeds and originate from a flower's ovaries.

What is a fruit?

The matured and ripened ovary of a flowering plant is what we refer to as a fruit. When ovules are fertilized, they develop into the seeds of the plant, and the ovary of an angiosperm is the where these ovules are found. The ovary that contains the seeds will then enlarge and develop into a fruit.

Do fruits have a specific function?

Yes, the fruit's main functions are to safeguard the plant's fertilized seeds and to assist in seed dispersal, or the spreading of the plant's seeds.

Difference Between a Fruit and a Vegetable

Any edible portion of a plant is referred to as a vegetable, and these parts are typically categorized based on their intended use. For instance, there are root vegetables like radishes, beets, carrots, and sweet potatoes. There are leafy greens that are actually leaves, such as lettuce, kale, and Swiss chard. Celery and rhubarb make up the stems, while broccoli and cauliflower make up the blossoms. Cutting into the plant's bulb occurs when you cut open an onion or a clove of garlic. Typically, herbaceous, low-growing plants with delicate stems are the source of vegetables.

Contrarily, fruits are nothing more than the mature flower's ovaries that contain and guard the plant's seeds. Most of the fruits we eat come from plants with woody stems, such as trees and shrubs, while some are also the fruit of herbaceous plants. However, because a fruit is a component of a plant, isn't it a vegetable? Botanists might disagree to that. Tomatoes continue to be regarded as a traditional vegetable in the culinary world, regardless of its botanical or scientific categorization.

What is a True Fruit?

True fruits are only made from tissues that develop from a flower's ovary and contain one or more seeds. The fleshy portion of the fruit that we consume is actually the ovary wall that has developed and swollen due to fructose, the sugar type found in fruit. The pericarp, which is made up of three layers when the ovary has transformed into a fruit, is what remains of the ovary.

Mango, maize, grape are some examples of true fruits.

What is a False (Accessory) Fruit?

False fruit is defined as a type of fruit that does not originate from the ovary but rather from a specific flower or tissue. A false fruit or accessory fruit is one that receives some of its flesh from adjacent tissue as opposed to the floral ovary. Typically, accessory fruits are indehiscent, meaning they do not ripen and release their seeds.

Apples, Figs, and Strawberries are examples of accessory fruits - they all develop from the receptacle of the flower. Pomes like pears are also considered accessory fruits since a large portion of the fruit meat comes from a hypanthium.

Why is an Apple called a false fruit?

The flesh of an apple comes from a swelling receptacle (part of stem) rather than the ovary. The core, which is the part we discard, contains the actual fruit. Pears are the same way. Another false fruit is strawberry, but it is a different topic.

Fruits That Have Seeds

If a plant product has seeds, you can quickly determine if it is a real fruit. A thing is a fruit if it has seeds! True fruits come in a variety of varieties, each with a unique structure.

Given below are some common examples of true fruits (all have one or more seeds) −

• Berries − blueberries, avocados, and cucumbers

• Hesperidium − oranges, lemons and limes

• Pepo − watermelon, cantaloupe, and cucumbers

• Drupe − peaches, olives and cherries

• Drupelet − black berries and raspberries

• Legume − green peas, green beans, and peanuts

The avocado is a fruit; did you know that? We frequently equate sweet foods with fruit and everything else with veggies. Fruit classification has more to do with plants than flavor.

Categories of Fruits

Fruits exist in countless variations of sizes, colors, textures, tastes, and shapes. Botanists typically segregate fruits as − real fruit, accessory fruit, and parthenocarpic fruit. We are more accustomed to categorizing fruits as simple, aggregate, and multiple. Most of the fruits you are familiar with and enjoy eating are simple fruits.

Simple fruits

A single flower with a single ovary gives rise to a simple fruit. This group includes the majority of the fleshy fruits you typically eat.

There are four different varieties of fruit that fall under the simple fruit category −

Type	Description	Examples
Drupes	Due to the extremely hard seed that is located inside the fleshy fruit, these fruits are frequently referred to as stone fruits	cherry, plum, peach
Berries	Fruits with seeds in the middle and typically juicy interiors fall under this category	grape, blueberry, gooseberry
Pomes	Fruits that mostly bloom from trees fall under this classification. Pomes are common fleshy fruits and "accessory fruits," which means that the pome's edible fleshy portion is not its pericarp. Pomes have papery pericarps (similar to the unpleasant core of an apple) and their flesh is an additional fruit component known as a hypanthium.	apples, pears
Hesperidium and Pepos	Due to their similarities, these two classifications are frequently combined or assigned to the berries category	citrus fruits [hesperidium], watermelon [pepos]

Aggregate fruits

A single bloom with several ovaries develops into an aggregation fruit. Aggregates are similar to a cluster of many fruits because they produce several pericarps from multiple ovaries. You can therefore have aggregates of several simple fruit varieties.

For instance, a blackberry is an aggregate of drupes, and the little individual fruits that make up a blackberry are referred to as "drupelets." A strawberry is made up of many achenes. The fleshy portion of a strawberry is like an expanded receptacle, and the pericarps are tiny, dry pieces that are on the outside of the strawberry. This makes strawberries accessory fruits. A lot of aggregation fruits contain what appear to be little hairs on their exteriors; nevertheless, these hairs are actually styles connected to each ovary.

Examples of aggregate fruits: Blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries.

Multiple Fruits

A cluster of several blossoms gives rise to a number of fruits. Every blossom combines and develops into a single mass. The full fruit is known as an infructescence, which is interesting!

The individual fruits that make up the multiple fruit can come from different simple fruit varieties. Figs, pineapples, and many more fruits are included in the final group. Several fused berries, for instance, make up a pineapple.

Examples of multiple fruits: Pineapple, jackfruit and figs.

FAQs

Qns 1. Why is apple an accessory fruit?

Ans. Apples are examples of accessory fruits because that are created from a different part of the plant than the ovary.

Qns 2. Is an accessory fruit a simple fruit?

Ans. The majority of accessory fruits are simple fruits that grow from inferior ovaries. Apple, strawberry, quince, pineapple, and watermelon are some examples of accessory fruits.

Qns 3. What are some examples of a accessory fruit?

Ans. Apples, figs, and strawberries are some examples of this kind of fruit.

Qns 4. Is an Accessory Fruit a True Fruit?

Ans. An accessory fruit is called a false fruit, also referred to as a pseudocarp. The fleshy fruit component of these fruits is formed by organs other than the ovary and its wall. A true fruit is red, but the accessory fruit is white.