SUCCULENT FRUITS

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Succulent fruits

These are fruits whose pericarp becomes juicy and can be eaten

Groups of juicy fruits

  • Berries
  • Drupes
  • Pomes

Berries

Berries are fruits with many seeds

Examples of berries
  • Tomatoes
  • Pawpaw
  • Guavas
  • Water melons
  • Oranges

Drupes

Drupes ate fruits with one seed

Examples of drupes

  1. Mangoes
  2. Coconut
  3. Avocado
  4. Palm oil
Dry fruits

Pomes are fruits whose pericarp is usually dry hard and woody

Example of pome

Apple

Groups of dry fruits

  • Dehiscent / splitting fruits
  • Indehiscent / non splitting fruits

Splitting fruits

Splitting fruits have pods or capsule to split to disperse seeds e.g.  Castor oil

Non-splitting fruits

These usually have only one seed, the pericarp does not split to disperse the seeds instead many of such fruits have special structures for seed dispersal

Examples of non-splitting fruits
  • Black jack
  • Tridax
  • Rice
Parts of a fruits avocado
ovacado
Mango
Diagram
Mango

Dispersal of seed and fruits

Dispersal is the scattering of seeds and fruits away from the parent plant over a wide area

In some plants, only seed are dispersed while in others the fruits are dispersed with seed

Importance of dispersal

  1. Dispersal prevents overcrowding if plants
  2. Dispersal reduces competition for sunlight
  3. Dispersal reduces the competition for plant nutrient
  4. Dispersal enables plants to colonize a new area
  5. Dispersal minimizes epidemic diseases crowded seedling
  6. Dispersal increases chances of survival of species.

Agents of dispersal

  1. Animals
  2. Wind
  3. Explosive mechanism (self-dispersal)
  4. Flowing water
  5. Man

Animals

Characteristics of fruit dispersed by animals

  • Fruits are succulent or juicy
  • Fruits have features which make them attached easily to the far of animals
  • Fruits have brightly coloured epicarps
  • Fruits have good scent

Examples of fruits dispersed by animals

  1. Mangoes
  2. Guavas
  3. Pawpaw
  4. Tomatoes
  5. Passion fruits
  6. Black jack

Wind

Characteristics of seeds and fruits dispersed by wind

  1. The seeds are small and light
  2. Seeds or fruits can easily be carried by wind e.g. orchid
  3. Some seeds have a tuff of hairy e.g. cotton seeds
  4. Some fruits have parachute like hair e.g. dandelion
  5. Some seeds have wing like structure like jacaranda
  6. Some seeds have a censor mechanism when and blow the dry season are thrown out the capsule

E.g. poppy

Explosive / self-dispersal

Explosive mechanism is also called mechanical dispersal

Many fruits when ripe split open with force and thrown out the seta the same distance

Examples of seed fruits of self-dispersal

  1. Peas
  2. Beans
  3. Castor oil
Illustration of self-dispersal
self dispersal 12

Water

Characteristics of seeds and fruits dispersed by water

  • Fruits and seeds are light
  • Fruits and seeds have air tight coverings
  • Fruits have numerous air spaces on their mesocarp
  • Fruits and seeds are able to float on water for long period
Examples of fruits and seeds dispersed by water
  1. Water Lilly
  2. Coconut fruits
  3. Mangrove
  4. Sedge