FRUITS 



51 



one produced from a simple pistil or carpel containing only one seed. A 

 collection of such fruits may be seen in the ripened flower of the buttercup, 

 smartweed, or buckwheat. A single one of 

 these fruits, that is, a single ripe ovary, is 

 called an achene. 



In the fruit of the strawberry the recep- 

 tacle of the flower has grown up to form the 

 fleshy mass that we call fruit, wliile the 

 achenelike fruits are found growing on 

 the outside of this. Such a collection of 

 fruits is called an accessor?/ fruit. Why? 



Dry and Fleshy Fruits. — Fruits are 

 easily grouped into two great classes, 

 depending upon the amount of water 

 they contain when ripe. They are 

 hence called dry or fleshy. 



The blackberry ; a fruit made up 

 of many separate ripe carpels. 



In the following list decide which are dry and which fleshy fruits. Bean, 

 apple, acorn, orange, grain (wheat or corn), pumpkin. How would the seeds 

 in fleshy fruit be able to get out of the fruit? What is the use of the fleshy 

 part to the fruit? 



Pome. — The botanist finds several kinds of fleshy fruits. One 

 which we meet with most frequently is called the pome. An 



apple is an excellent ex- 

 ample. 



Study of an Apple. — In 

 order to understand the for- 

 mation of the apple fruit it 

 will be necessary to go back 

 to the apple blossom. This 

 gives us an explanation for 

 the dried structures found at 

 the opposite end from the ap- 

 ple stem. These are the dried 

 ends of the sepals. 



Notice the skin. Of what 

 use is it to the fruit? Re- 

 move the skin from the apple. 

 Leave the pared apple exposed 

 to the air a few hours. What 

 happens? The formation of 

 the fruit can be understood 

 better if we cut several see- 

 In a cross section find the 



Young apples, and apple blossoms. 



tions through it at right angles to the stem. 



locules of the ovary; how many are there ? The tough walls directly mclos- 

 ing the seeds are the pericarp or ovary wall proper. The fleshy part of the 



