Section 3: The Basic Parts of a Plant

Glossary

Lesson 6: The Fruit


         
          The fruit is a part of a flowering plant - it is the ripened ovary of a flower,
          and it contains the seed that is capable of producing a new plant similar to
          the parent plant. 
          Not all plants bear fruits.

          After fertilization, the ovary swells and becomes either fleshy or hard,
          thereby forming one of two types of fruit - fleshy or dry.
 
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Fleshy Fruits

The seeds in these fruits can be readily seen; typical examples of these are apples, oranges, and berries. 
Many things we call vegetables are really fruits, since they are ripened ovaries of flowering plants that
contain plant seeds. Examples of these are tomatoes and cucumbers.
Even corn kernels are ripened ovaries, and are, therefore, classified as fruits according to the science of botany.

Dry Fruits

Some fruits have very hard outer coverings; nuts are the best example of such fruits. Remember that a fruit is a ripened ovary. The hard shell of a nut is really the outer wall of a ripened ovary. Therefore, a nut is also a type of fruit, even though it is commonly thought of as a seed.



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The fruit of a plant has two basic functions:
As a seed develops, it is in a vulnerable state and needs protection from the elements to survive.

To spread out and carry the seeds to new locations; this could be from animals, wind, or water.