THE FRUIT 



79 



Not all blueberries are blue. Some species are black, others 

 hluish-hlack, blue, or light blue, and varieties of some species 

 are white, pink, or red. In all species and varieties of blue- 

 berries and huckleberries the amount and character of the bloom 

 are noteworthy. As species of these fruits are improved by the 

 introduction of new varieties, Avider ranges in color, size, and 

 shape of fruit may be expected. 



In no fruits do the seed and seed-cavities count for as much 

 in classification and value as in the heath-fruits. In cran- 

 berries the number of seeds in varieties vary from seedlessness 

 to 150 seeds; the lower the average number for a variety the 

 better. In huckleberries there are commonly ten nutlets, which 

 are large enough to make the fruits unpleasant in eating. In 

 blueberries the seeds are small and numerous ; the size and num- 

 ber materially affect the palatability of the fruit. The thick- 

 ness of the flesh between seed-cavity and surface is important 

 in the classification of cranberries. 



The Fruits of the Strawberry 



A strawberry is a juicy edible spurious fruit of any species of 

 Fragaria. The spurious fruit is the receptacle, while the true 



fruits are the seed-like struc- 

 tures borne upon the much 

 enlarged edible receptacle 

 (Fig. 44). The seed-like 

 structures, called achenes, 

 are the true fruits because 

 they are the ripened pistils. 

 The fruit-like receptacle, 

 when ripe, is a solid, round, 

 pulpy, cone-shaped struc- 

 ture, usually red, about the 

 base of which is a flat rim to 

 which were attached the 

 floral and reproductive or- 

 gans. 

 119. Fruit characters of the strawberry. — The size of berries 

 is usually unreliable for purposes of classification, although the 

 fruits of some sorts run uniformly small and of others large. 



Fig. 44. Fruit of strawberry, a. 

 achene ; b. cortex of receptacle : c. 

 medulla of receptacle ; d. calyx-lobe. 



