Classification of Fruits

Fruit varieties are further classified depending upon their different seed dispersal methods. For instance,
in fleshy fruits, seeds are dispersed by animals that eat the fruit and then excrete the seeds out. Other

fruit seeds are dispersed by catching onto the fur or feathers of animals and later drop off, while other
plants, such as witch hazel or touch-me-not, produce fruits that rather spectacularly explode.

Anyway, I think I digress a bit so back to the different types of fruit classification. Fleshy fruits are
classified into several types:

 Drupes – A drupe is a fleshy fruit that has one seed surrounded by a bony endocarp, or the inner
wall of the pericarp, which is sweet and juicy. Drupe fruit varieties
include plums, peaches and olives — basically all pitted fruit.

 Berries – Berries on the other hand have several seeds with a fleshy pericarp. These
include tomatoes, eggplants and grapes.

 Pomes – A pome has many seeds with fleshy tissue surrounding the pericarp that is sweet and
juicy. Pomes include apples and pears.

 Hesperidia and Pepos – Both the hesperidium and pepo fleshy fruits have a leathery rind.
Hesperidium includes citrus fruits like lemons and oranges, while the pepo fruits
include cucumbers, cantaloupes and squash.

Dry fruits are classified into categories such as:

 Follicles – Follicles are pod-like fruits that contain many seeds. These include milkweed pods and
those of the magnolia.

 Legumes – Legumes are pod-like as well, but open along two sides releasing several seeds and
include peas, beans, and peanuts.

 Capsules – Lilies and poppies are plants that produce capsules, which are notable by opening
along three or more lines at the top of the fruit to release their seeds.

 Achenes – Achenes have a single seed, fairly loosely held within, except for one small moorage
called the funiculus. The sunflower seed is an achene.

 Nuts – Nuts such as acorns, hazelnuts and hickory nuts are similar to the achene except their
pericarps are hard, fibrous and composed of a compound ovary.

 Samaras – Ash and elm trees produce smaras which are modified achene that has a flattened,
“wing” portion of the pericarp.

 Schizocarps – Maple trees produce winged fruit as well but it is referred to as a schizocarp, as it
is composed of two parts that later split into single seeded portions. Most schizocarps are not
 winged and are found amongst the parsley family, and the seed generally splits into more than
two parts.

 Caryopses – A caryopsis has a single seed wherein the seed coat is adhered to the pericarp.
Among these are plants in the grass family such as wheat, corn, rice and oats.

The exact categorization of fruits can be a little confusing and has no bearing on the long held belief that
a fruit is sweet while a vegetable is savory. Basically, if it has seeds, it’s a fruit (or an ovary such as nuts),
and if not, it’s a vegetable.
Composite fruits are those fruits which develop from the entire inflorescence rather than from single
flower. There are two types of composite fruits namely syconus and sorosis. Syconus is a collective
fleshy fruit in which the ovaries are hidden within a receptacle

After fertilization, each flower develops into a drupe, and as the drupes expand, they become connate
(merge) into a multiple fleshy fruit called a syncarp. There are also many dry multiple fruits. Other
examples of multiple fruits: Plane tree, multiple achenes from multiple flowers, in a
single fruit structure.

A simple fruit always develops from a single ovary containing one or more carpels and may or may not
include additional modified accessory floral (perianth) structures. In addition, a simple fruit is either
fleshy or dry.

Pollen combines with the ovule to form a new plant embryo. The fruit grows around the embryo,
protecting it and aiding in dispersal. Aggregate fruits are special because they form from multiple
ovaries in the same flower. The result is tiny fruitlets fused together around a receptacle to form an
entire fruit.