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 papillae 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 papillae and the 

 outer wall is striated. The papillae do not show, however, unless 

 the cell is cut across the centre, which is the point at which the 

 papillae are located. 



Mesocarp. In the rib part of the mesocarp (Fig. 2) is a 



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