148 



THE FRUIT 



FIG. 103. 



a 



Cross section of an orange 



A nut (Fig. 162) is larger than an akene, usually has a 

 harder shell, and commonly contains a seed which springs from 



a single ovule in one locule 

 of a compound ovary, which 

 develops at the expense of all 

 the other ovules. The chestnut 

 bur is a kind of involucre, and 

 so is the acorn cup. The name 

 nut is often incorrectly ap- 

 plied in popular language ; for 

 example, the " Brazil nut" is 

 really a large seed with a very 

 hard testa. 



183. The berry. This is a 

 generally fleshy fruit, which 

 usually does not split open. 

 Such berries as the tomato, 

 grape, and persimmon result 

 from the ripening of a supe- 

 rior ovary. Those of the gooseberry, currant, and many others 

 result from half-inferior or inferior 

 ovaries, and therefore a consider- 

 able part of the bulk of the fruit 

 is receptacle. The leathery- 

 skinned fruit of the orange family 

 is a true berry. 



The fruit of the apple, pear, and 

 quince is called a pome. It con- 

 sists of a several-loculed ovarv, 



t/ * 



the seeds and the tough membrane 



FIG. 164. Peach. Longitudinal 



section of drupe 

 After Decaisne 



a, axis of fruit, with dots showing cut-off 

 ends of fibro-vascular bundles ; p, par- 

 tition between cells of ovary ; S, seed ; 

 c, loeule of ovary filled with a pulp com- 

 posed of irregular sacs full of juice; 

 o, oil reservoirs near outer surface of 

 rind ; e, corky layer of epidermis. - 

 After Decaisne 



surrounding them in the core,- 



inclosed by a fleshy edible portion 



which makes up the main bulk of 



the fruit. In the apple and the pear much of the fruit is 



receptacle. 



