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Fruits Facts & Worksheets

In botany, a fruit is the fleshy or dry ripened ovary of flowering plants - angiosperms - containing seeds.

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In botany, a fruit is the fleshy or dry ripened ovary of flowering plants – angiosperms – containing seeds. Some fruits have seeds while some are seedless. In general knowledge, fruits are the edible sweet, sour, or bitter seed-associated structures of plants.

See the fact file below for more information on the fruits or alternatively, you can download our 25-page Fruits worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

STRUCTURE OF FRUITS

  • A fruit has two main parts: the seeds and the fruit wall, known as the pericarp, which differs from fruit to fruit.
  • The pericarp is divided into three layers: epicarp (outer rind), mesocarp (sweet, juicy, and edible fleshy middle layer), and endocarp (innermost hard covering).
  • Fruits can be classified into three groups: simple, aggregate, and composite.

SIMPLE FRUITS

  • These develop from a single ovary which has one pistil. Ovaries may be monocarpellary (single) or multicarpellary (compound) syncarpous (fused carpels).
  • These fruits can either be simple fleshy or simple dry.
  • SIMPLE FLESHY FRUITS
    • Either the whole pericarp or a portion of it is succulent and juicy when ripened. Normally, simple fruits have three pericarp layers; they are indehiscent. A fruit is indehiscent when it does not split open to release seeds when ripe. These are further divided into two kinds: baccate and drupaceous.
    • Baccate fruits. They have no hard part except for the seeds. Berry, a many seeded fruit, is an example of this kind. The outside of the berry may be soft or hard and leathery. The two remaining layers are soft or fleshy. Their seeds can withstand digestion and can be carried in the gut of an animal. In these fruits, all layers, including those with seeds, are edible.
    • Hesperidium. It is a citrus berry with a leathery outer fruit wall. It came from a superior compound ovary (multicarpellary) fused together (syncarpous). Its mesocarp is fibrous and its endocarp separates the fruit chamber into a number of sections, wherein seeds covered by juicy pulps, or outgrowths from the lacentae, are found on the axial placentae.
    • Balusta. It is another type of berry which has a hard exocarp and some portions of its mesocarp. Chambers, each having papery endocarps surrounded by seeds, develop from the inward foldings of the mesocarp.
    • Amphisarca. These are fleshy fruits from compound ovaries. Having woody pericarps, the placenta and endocarps are pulpy and edible, with seeds scattered all over the inner layer.
    • Pepo. It is another type of berry with a hard, thick exocarp. It is usually a large fleshy fruit which came from a tricarpellary (three carpels), syncarpous, unilocular (single-chambered), and inferior ovary with parietal placentation. Examples are cucumbers, melons, and bottle gourds.
    • Drupes, as in peaches and plums, are stony one-seeded drupaceous simple fleshy fruits. They have soft exocarps, fleshy and juicy mesocarps, and stony and inedible endocarps covering the seeds and are usually discarded.
    • A coconut is a rare kind of druipe with a fibrous mesocarp for water dispersal and an edible endosperm inside the seed.
    • Pomes, such as apples and pears, are fleshy false fruits, also known as pseudocarps. It came from a multicarpellary syncarpous inferior ovary in which the pericarp forms a papery-like core that encloses the seeds. The hypanthium, a specialized stem tissue, is where the fleshy, edible part of the fruit came from.
  • SIMPLE DRY FRUITS
    • These fruits have dry fruit walls, divided into three types: dehiscent, schizocarpic, and indehiscent.
    • Dehiscent. These are those dry fruits which split open at maturity to disperse seeds. Known as capsular fruits, these include legumes, follicles, capsules, siliqua, and silicula.
    • Legumes, as in peanuts and peas, are long and thin many-seed dry fruits, developed from a monocarpellary, superior ovary, splitting along dorsal and ventral junctions, thus, forming into two valves.
    • Similar to legumes, follicles came from a monocarpellary, superior ovary, but splits from one suture only. Some examples of follicles include milkweed, columbine, peony, larkspur, and marsh marigold.
    • Capsules are dry, woody, many-seed dry fruits, developed from syncarpous, superior or inferior ovaries, which splits in two or more sutures.
    • Siliqua, such as wallflowers and rock cress, are formed from a bicarpellary, syncarpous, superior ovary, dehiscing from both base to apex sutures, leaving seeds affixed to the replum (false septum).
      Silicula, like candytufts, is a short and flattened siliqua.
    • Dehiscence fruits are of five types: poricidal (occurs through pores), pyxis (the top comes off as a lid, revealing the seeds), loculicidal (occurs by longitudinal slits), septicidal (dehiscence line is along the septa), and sentifragai (seeds in the central axis are exposed).
    • Schizocarpic. Also known as splitting fruits, these are a combination of the two other kinds of dry fruits, splitting into indehiscent one-seeded segments (mericarps) as soon as pericarps start to rot. In some instances, single-seeded parts of the fruit are capsular and are called cocci.
    • These fruits are divided into five types: cremocarp, carcerulus, regma, lomentum, and compound samara.
    • Cremocarps are two-seeded dry fruits from bicarpellary, syncarpous, bilocular, and inferior ovaries. It splits into two indehiscent mericarps which remain attached along the carpophore.
    • Carcerulus are produced from superior, syncarpous ovaries with many locules on an axile placentation, dehiscing into many mericarps.
    • Regma is from a tricarpellary syncarpous, superior, trilocular ovary with a number of spinous tubercles, which splits into many dehiscent segments (cocci).
    • Like legumes but with transverse dehiscing sutures, a lomentum, such as a tamarind, is a dry fruit from monocarpellary, superior ovaries, which splits into many single-seeded mericarps at maturity.
    • Compound Samara, such as maple, is a two or more-chambered fruit from a compound ovary whose pericarps extend to form wing-like structures. When already fully grown, the fruit collapses into one-seeded mericarps.
    • Indehiscent. These achenial fruits are one-seeded, with thin, dry, woody or leathery fruit walls. There are five types of indehiscent fruits: achene, caryopsis, cypsela, samara, and nuts.
    • Achene is a small, single-seeded fruit from superior monocarpellary pistils with unilocular ovaries. The pericarp of the fruit is hard and leathery, and stays without the testa (seed coat).
    • Caryopsis, from a monocarpellary ovary, is just like the achene, except for the inseparable merge of its pericarp and seed coat.
    • Cypsela is a dry, single-chambered, one-seeded fruit with pericarps free from testa, produced from a bicarpellary, syncarpous, inferior ovary with basal placentation. They are distinctive for their hairlike bristles (pappus) which are useful in wind dispersal.
    • Samara, from a monocarpellary pistil with superior, unilocular, uniovuled ovary, is a type of fruit which extends its pericarps in the form of wings, an essential characteristic for dispersal.
    • Nuts, such as hazelnuts and acorns, are large, indehiscent, single-seeded fruits from simple or compound pistils with superior or inferior, uniovuled ovaries. They have thick, wood-like shells which encloses a single seed.

AGGREGATE FRUITS

  • An aggregate fruit develops from a single flower with many pistils, each of which give rise to many fruitlets. It consists of a group of simple fruits, named according to the nature of fruitlets.
  • It has five classifications: etaerio of achenes, etaerio of follicles, etaerio of drupes, etaerio of samaras, and etaerio of berries.
  • Etaerio of achenes. Aggregate of achenes are seen in strawberries, lotus, etc. In a strawberry, its thalamus is fleshy and turns red when ripened, making it the edible part of the fruit. In lotus, on the other hand, the thalamus changes into a spongy texture with some achenes embedded in it.
  • Etaerio of follicles. This can be found in Aconitum, Calotropis, Cryptostegia, etc. Three fruitlets are formed from each flower in Aconitum, while two fruitlets are produced from one flower in Calotropis, Cryptostegia, and Michelia.
  • Etaerio of samaras. In Ailanthus, a number of winged samaras form from one flower.
  • Etaerio of berries. In custard apples, the aggregate of berries become very fleshy and crowd together on a thich thalamus from one complex fruit. The apices of berries combine together, producing something like a common rind.
  • Etaerio of drupes. A group of small drupes (drupelets) formed from different carpels of a flower, fused collectively on a fleshy thalamus.

COMPOSITE FRUITS

  • Composite or multiple fruits are formed from many different flowers of a whole inflorescence arranged together to produce a single big fruit. By definition, multiple fruits are false fruits.
  • There are two main types of composite fruits: sorosis and syconus.
    Sorosis, such as pineapples and mulberries, develop from spike, spadix, or catkin.
  • Syconus, like figs, is produced from the hypanthodium (floral cup) type of inflorescence, wherein the peduncle (stalk) is edible, fleshy, and hollow.

ACCESSORY FRUITS

  • Also called false fruits, pseudofruits, or pseudocarps, accessory fruits are developed from other parts of the plant, especially from the receptacle.
  • Examples are strawberries, pineapples, figs, mulberries, apples, and pears.
  • Fruits with fleshy seeds are not considered as false fruits.

USES AND BENEFITS

  • Hundreds of fruits are commercially available for human consumption, eaten both fresh and as preserves, such as apples, bananas, kiwis, mangoes, peaches, and watermelons.
  • Some are made into manufactured foods (like pastries and dairies), or beverages, such as fruit juices (apple juice, orange juice) or alcoholic drinks (fruit beer, wine).
  • During special occasions, fruits are also used for gift giving, in the form of fruit baskets and fruit bouquets.
  • Bell pepper, cucumber, green beans, okra, pumpkin, squash, tomato, and zucchini are culinary vegetables that are, by definition, botanical fruits.
  • Fresh fruits are generally rich in fiber, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), and water. Eating fruits regularly reduces the risk of several diseases.
  • Bayberry fruits are often used to manufacture candles because of the wax they produce.
  • A number of dry fruits serve as decorations, and ornaments in dried flower arrangements.
  • Osage orange fruits can be made as cockroach repellents.
  • Dried gourds are turned into bird houses, cups, ornaments, musical instruments, and water containers.
  • Pumpkins are very iconic during the Halloween season, turned into Jack-o’-lanterns.
  • Coir fibers from coconut shells are made into brushes, doormats, floor tiles, insulation, mattresses, sacking, and as growing medium for some plants. Its shells are converted into bird houses, souvenir heads, cups, and musical instruments.
  • Fruits are mostly picked by artists as their subject for still life paintings.

Fruits Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the fruits across 25 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Fruits worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about a fruit which is the fleshy or dry ripened ovary of flowering plants – angiosperms – containing seeds. Some fruits have seeds while some are seedless. In general knowledge, fruits are the edible sweet, sour, or bitter seed-associated structures of plants.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Fruits  Facts
  • Fruit Search
  • Fruit Coding
  • Fruit Concept Map
  • Fruit Gallery
  • Fruit or Vegetable
  • Fruitionary
  • Uses and Benefits
  • Exotic Fruit
  • A-Z Challenge
  • Fruity Slogan

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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