FLESHY FRUITS 



126 127 



126, 127. A potato berry: 



126, exterior ; 127, cross section. 



for the little stalk, or thread, that attaches them to the 

 placenta. 



Pepo is the name given by botanists to this kind of fruit. 

 Write in your notebook a proper definition of it, from the 

 specimens examined. 



79. The Berry. Examine a 

 tomato, an eggplant, a grape, 

 cranberry, lemon, or orange, in 

 both cross and vertical section, 

 and compare it with the pepo. 

 Notice that they all agree in 

 having a more or less thick and 

 firm outside covering filled with 



a soft, pulpy interior. In what respects does the one you 



are examining differ from the pepo ? 



Fruits of this kind are classed by botanists as berries. 



They are the commonest of all fleshy fruits, and the most 



variable and difficult to define. In general, any soft, 



pulpy, or juicy mass, 

 like the grape and 

 tomato, whether one or 

 many seeded, inclosed 

 in a containing envel- 

 ope, whether skin or 

 rind, is a berry. Its 



128,129. Tangerine: 128, vertical section ; typical forms are Such 

 129, cross section. f , 



fruits as the grape, 



mistletoe, pokeberry, etc., though such diverse forms as 

 the eggplant, persimmon, red pepper, orange, banana, and 

 pomegranate have been classed as berries; and, in fact, 

 the pepo itself is only a greatly modified kind of the same 

 fruit. In popular language, any small, round, edible fruit 

 is called a berry, but do not confound it with 



80. The Drupe, or stone fruit, of which the cherry, plum, 

 peach, dogwood, black haw, and black gum furnish typi- 

 cal examples. 



Notice that the drupe agrees with the berry in having 



