CHAPTER VIII 
FRUITS 
There is great variation in the structure of fruits, such a 
variation, in fact, that no one fruit has a structure typical of 
all the other fruits. Each fruit, however, has a pericarp and 
one or more seeds. The amount and structure of the cells 
forming the pericarp and the seeds of fruits differ in different 
fruits, but for each fruit there is a normal amount of, and a 
characteristic, cellular structure. Nearly all the important 
medicinal fruits are cremocarps or umbelliferous fruits. 
The plan of structure of cremocarps is similar, but they all 
have a different cellular structure. The epidermis may be 
simple or modified as papillz or hairs. The secretion cavities 
may be absent (conium), or, when present, variable in number 
—cultivated celery seed has six, wild celery seed up to twelve, 
and anise up to twenty. The vascular bundles may be large or 
small. The endocarp cells may be two or more layers in thick- 
ness. The spermoderm may be thin or thick. 
The endosperm cells may vary in size and the cell contents 
may vary. 
CELERY FRUIT 
The fruit of celery (Plate 121), like other umbelliferous. 
fruits, is composed of the pericarp and the seed. 
The pericarp is composed of epicarp cells, mesocarp cells, 
endocarp cells, and in each rib a vascular bundle. The seed is 
composed of the spermoderm, endosperm, and embryo. Each 
of these parts has a characteristic structure. 
Epicarp. ‘The cells of the epicarp (Fig. 1) are papilla and the 
outer wall is striated. The papilla do not show, however, unless 
the cell is cut across the centre, which is the point at which the 
papille are located. 
Mesocarp. In the rib part of the mesocarp (Fig. 2) is a 
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