Durian – King of Fruits

Fruit Types – List of Fruits by Type

The plant kingdom offers the animal kingdom with an unthinkable number of type and sub-types of consumable fruits. These fruits types are not only good to eat, but a source of many important vitamins, minerals and fibers needed for the normal functioning of the body. This article will deal with the list of fruits by type.

Botanists have defined fruits as ripened ovaries along with their contents and adhering accessory structures. Fruits are produced from flowers on the plants and trees. Flowers are pollinated and these fertilized flowers turn into fruits. The ovule turns to seeds, the petals fall off and the ovary surrounding the ovule starts swelling. There are many different types of fruits. These different types of fruits are categorized into four groups basically, namely, simple fruits, aggregate fruits, multiple fruits and accessory fruits. Let us first understand each fruit type before moving on to the list of fruits.

Types of Fruits

Pistil is the main female reproductive organ of a flower. A pistil includes an ovary and a tube called as style. The style is topped with a stigma. The pollen for fertilization is received by the stigma. This reproductive setup of a flower determines the type of fruit. Let us understand more about the different types of fruits.

• Simple Fruits: These fruit types are produced by flowers containing one pistil, the main female reproductive organ of a flower.
• Aggregate Fruits: These fruits types are developed from flowers which have more than one pistils. They consist of mass of small drupes that develops from a separate ovary of a single flower.
• Multiple Fruits: These fruit types are developed not from one single flower but by a cluster of flowers.
• Accessory Fruits: These fruit types are developed from plant parts other than the ovary.

Fruits can be fleshy or dry. The main fleshy fruit types are berry and drupe. Let us know more about the different fleshy fruit types according to the fruit category.

Fleshy Simple Fruits

Berries: These fruit types have a soft epicarp and the mesocarp and endocarp is fleshly. The following is a list of fruits that come under types of berries

• Grapes
• Tomatoes
• Bananas
• Raspberry
• Avocados
• Eggplants
• Currants
• Persimmons

Hesperidiums: These fruit types have thick, leathery exocarp and mesocarp. They have a juicy, pulpy endocarp that is arranged in section of juice sacs from the ovary wall. The list of fruit under the type of hesperidium are as follows:

• Orange
• Lemon
• Grapefruit
• Limes
• Citron
• Mandarin
• Clementine
• Ugli fruit

Pepo: The berry has an outer wall or rind that is formed from receptacle tissue that is fused to the exocarp. The mesocarp and endocarp from the fleshy interior. The list of fruits under the type of pepo are:

• Cucumber
• Watermelon
• Squash
• Pumpkin
• Honeydew melon
• Sunberry

Drupe: The fruits are developed from one carpel ovary and with one seed. The endocarp is hard and stony that fits closely around the seed. The mesocarp is fleshy and the fruit has thin, soft exocarp. The list of fruits under the type of drupe are:

• Cherry
• Peach
• Plum
• Almond
• Apricot
• Olive
• Lychee
• Pin cherry
• Coconut

Pome: The fruit is developed from a compound inferior ovary. The ripened tissue around the ovary forms the fleshy edible part. The list of fruits under the types of pome are:

• Apples
• Pears
• Quince
• Chokeberry
• Haw
• Juneberry
• Medlar
• Rowan
• Sorb apple

Fleshy Aggregate Fruits

Polydrupes: This is formed from the development of a number of simple carpels from a single flower. Few are dry fruits that are attached to a fleshy receptacle and the others are aggregation of simple fleshy fruits. The list of fruits under fleshy aggregate fruits are:

• Strawberry
• Blackberry
• Raspberry
• Boysenberry
• Loganberry
• Cloudberry
• Wineberry

Fleshy Multiple Fruits

The individual ovaries from different flowers get clustered together forming a fruit. The list of fruits under the type of fleshy multiple fruits are:

• Mulberry
• Pineapple
• Fig
• Pomegranate
• Date

The following is a list of fruits that are native to Asia.

• Cornelian cherry
• Goumi
• Jujube
• Jackfruit
• Kiwi fruit
• Loquat
• Kumquat
• Persimmon

The following is a list of Mediterranean and subtropical fruits.

• Guava
• Longan
• Lychee
• Passion Fruit

This is a list of tropical fruits that have a common characteristic of intolerance to frost.

• Akee
• Breadfruit
• Camu Camu
• Carambola
• Chempedak
• Custard apple
• Durian
• Guarana
• Mamoncillo
• Mango
• Mangosteen
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Rambutan
• Rose apple
• Tamarind

These are a different types of fruits that come under the fleshy group. There are fruits that are dry fruits and can be differentiated as dry dehiscent and dry indehiscent. Fruit types that contain seeds in a seedpod that opens up and releases the seeds are known as dehiscent fruits. The indehiscent are those fruit types that do not have a seed pot that opens. Let us have a look at different fruit types that come under this group.

Dry Dehiscent Fruits

Follicle: The fruit is developed from a single carpel ovary. It splits open from one side only. This type of fruit contains one or many seeds. The list of fruits under follicle are:

• Columbine
• Milkweed

Legume: These fruit types are dry dehiscent fruits that have pods that split on two sides. The list of fruits under legumes are:

• Sweet pea
• Beans
• Peanut
• Runner Bean

Silique: This is a fruit that develops from two-carpel ovary, with the halves that fall away leaving the seeds attached to persistent, central wall. The fruits under the Cruciferae family come under this type of fruits.

Capsule : The fruit develops from compound ovary with two or more carpels and the capsules dehisce. The fruits under this type of fruits are cotton, poppy and primrose.

Dry Indehiscent Fruits

Achene: This is a small one seeded fruit. The pericarp is easily separable from the seed coat. The fruits of buckwheat and sunflower family come under this type of fruit.

Samara: These are one or two seeded achene-like fruits. They form wings from the outgrowth of ovary walls. The type of fruits under this group are elms, ash and maple.

Caryopsis: These are one-seeded small fruits that have pericarp completely fused to the seed coat. The type of fruits under caryopsis include:

• Wheat
• Oats
• Rice
• Corn
• Barley
• Rye

Nuts: These are one seeded dried fruits with a hard pericarp. The list of fruits under this type are:

• Walnut
• Hazelnut
• Chestnut
• Acorn

These were some types of fruits found in nature. Most of the fleshy fruits are edible and are eaten all over the world. Not all dry fruits are edible, nonetheless they are types of fruits. Fruits are nature’s way of treating us with sweet and sour foods that have many health benefits and help keep our mind, body and skin healthy. One should make it a point of including these abundantly found and healthy foods in their daily diet. I hope this ‘fruity’ list was useful in introducing you to mother nature’s sweet bounty.

By Batul Nafisa Baxamusa Published: 9/7/2009

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