The fruits are a very important part in the reproductive cycle of the plants, having some of them, in addition, a great weight in the food chain and the ecosystem in which they are found. In fact, for some vegetables, animals eat them is the best way for their seed to reach other areas of earth to germinate and grow, thus the species colonizes more terrain. But what are the parts of the fruit? And what functions and importance are these parts and the fruit itself?
If you want to learn more about What are the parts of the fruit and their functionsaccompany us in this ecology article in which we explain everything and show schemes.
Fruit function and its characteristics
Before detailing more what the fruit is and what are its parts, we will begin by explaining What is, characteristics and functions of the fruit:
Protect seeds
The seed protection function occurs because The fruits contain the seed or seeds inside. They usually protect it with thick or hardened walls and, sometimes, the fruit even helps provide nutrient seed. However, its most important protection work is precisely to prevent the seed from being preceded or damaged while developing. In its early phases, the seed is not yet ready to be dispersed and must end up preparing in the plant, fulfilling its protective function here.
Facilitate seed dispersion
After the protective function and when the seed is already prepared, we reach the function of the fruit of facilitating or helping in the dispersion of the seed. This can occur in different ways:
- The Anemocoros fruits They take advantage of the wind to disperse their seeds. These are very light fruits, which have ideal ways for the wind to take them, with structures such as hairs or wing.
- The Zoocoros fruitson the other hand, they seek to attract animals so that they are the ones that do the dispersion function. This, in turn, can occur in two great forms. Epizoocoros are fruits that, due to their shape, are highly likely to get hooked on the fur, skin or feathers of animals, to let go later at another point. Endozoocoros seek that the animal ingest them, so that the animal’s digestive system takes advantage of the fruit, but does not damage the seed, which will be expelled later in other areas, where it will germinate. This type of fruits tends to be fleshy and striking colors to attract its consumers.
- They also exist Hydrocoros fruitslike coconuts, which take advantage of water to be transferred to great distances.
- Finally, we have The autocoroswhich are fruits with their own abilities to expel their seeds at a distance, as some legumes do.
These dispersion strategies are vital, because if the plant dropped its seeds around it, it would end up causing a very high competition of the original plant with its new offspring, in addition to hindering the colonization of new territories. Next, let’s see what are the parts of the fruit of a plant or treethat we can simply summarize in Seed and pericarp.
The fruit of the fruit
The seed is formed from the fertilized ovule, and each fruit can contain one or more of them. It is the embryo that will lead to a new plant if the appropriate conditions are met, being an indispensable part of the sexual reproduction of flowers. The Fruit seed It is formed by:
- The embryowhich will grow to become the new plant.
- The endospermwhich is the layer formed by reserve substances and nutrients that the embryo needs to grow.
- The protective layers of Tegument.
We recommend you read this other ecology article about the parts of the seed and its functions to learn this topic more thoroughly.
The pericarp of the fruit
The pericarp is the part of the fruit that is wrapping the seed. Some contain reserve substances, while others do not. It is composed of the emission, the mesocarp and the endocarp.
- The Epicarp It is the outermost layer of the pericarp, and consists of what we usually call the shell or skin of the fruit. Epicarpies are both the skin of the apple and the thorny part of a thistle or the shell of a dry fruit. They are divided into polychromes, smooth, granular, pubescent and thorny.
- The mesocarp It is the intermediate layer, which contains reserve substances. In immature fruits, these substances are citric, tartaric and malic acids, which help the seed to develop completely while giving the fruit an unpleasant taste so as not to be consumed yet. Once the seed is ready to be dispersed, the fruit converts its acids into sugars and starches, becoming very attractive to consumption and thus favoring the arrival of animals that ingest it.
- The endocarp It is the most internal part of the fruit, and consists of a protective layer around the seeds, usually harder and sometimes also contains reserve substances.
Now that you know all this about the fruits, we recommend you learn more with this other article about the parts of a plant and its functions, as well as the parts of a tree and its functions.
Fruit classification
The fruits are very varied and can be classified in various ways. For example, if we classify them according to whether or not they contain reserve substances in the mesocarpio, we find one of the most common classifications: the one that divides them into Dry and fleshy fruitswith numerous subtypes. On the other hand, if we look at the Types of fruits according to botanywe have to divide them into four categories:
- Simple fruits
- Multiple fruits
- Compound fruits
- Fruits partisocárpicos
Simple fruits are those that develop from a single ovary, while the multiple derive from several of them. These are also called infruits. Composite fruits are also formed by several ovaries, but when developing they end up joining. The partisocarpics or sterile are fruits that do not contain seeds, since they are formed without prior fertilization.
If you want to read more articles similar to Parts of the fruit and its functionswe recommend that you enter our biology category.
