CHAPTER XV 

 FRUITS AND THEIR USES 



Vocabulary 



Matured, fully developed. 

 Infinite, endless. 

 Superficial, careless. 

 Relatively, comparatively. 



While the seeds are developing, the ovary grows also, and the 

 final result is what we call a fruit. This does not necessarily mean 

 " fruit " in the sense of a fleshy edible product, but applies to 

 the seed-holding organ of any plant. A fruit may be denned as 

 the matured ovary, its contents, and all intimately connected 

 parts. Thus a fruit may consist of a single ovary with only one 

 seed, as in grains, nuts, cherries, or plums, or it may develop from 

 a single ovary which has several seeds, as in pansy, pea, poppy, 

 or apple. On the other hand there are many flowers which have 

 several ovaries. These combine to form compound fruits like the 

 strawberry or raspberry. Fruits may therefore be either dry or 

 fleshy, simple or compound, depending on the character and de- 

 velopment of the ovary which formed them. 



Types of Fruits. The peach is a good example of a one-celled, 

 simple, fleshy fruit. In it the ovary wall develops two parts, an 

 outer fleshy layer and the hard inner " stone " which encloses the 

 seed. Such a fruit is called a stone fruit. 



The apple develops from a five-celled ovary which forms the 

 core. Outside of this is a fleshy region, usually bounded by a faint 

 line which is probably the fleshy ovary wall, or may be an enlarged 

 receptacle. Outside of this is the bulk of the apple, which is a 

 greatly thickened calyx, as is indicated by the five tiny sepal tips 

 which persist at the blossom end. Inside these tips the dried sta- 



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