FRUITS | Types

Fruit Morphology: Fruit Types

Fruits are the reproductive part of a plant containing the seed.

Achene	simple, dry indehiscent one-seeded fruit
Samara	simple, dry, indehiscent fruit with a wing
Nut	simple, dry indehiscent, one-celled, one-seeded fruit with a hard wall
Follicle	simple, dry, dehiscent fruit that splits on one line of suture
Legume	simple, dry, dehiscent fruit that splits on two lines of suture and is in the Fabaceae
Capsule	simple, dry, dehiscent fruit that splits on two lines or more lines of suture
Pome	simple, fleshy fruit with a woody or papery wall around the interior seeds
Drupe	simple, fleshy fruit with a stony pit that is not separated from the fleshy fruit
Berry	simple, entirely fleshy fruit with many seeds
Hesperidium	simple, fleshy fruit with a leathery exterior and radial sections
Aggregate Fruit	compound fruit formed from a single flower
Multiple Fruit	compound fruit formed from many flowers

Hold cursor over photos to view species name and info

Achene

simple, dry indehiscent one-seeded fruit

Samara

simple, dry, indehiscent fruit with a wing

Nut

simple, dry indehiscent, one-celled, one-seeded fruit with a hard wall

Follicle

simple, dry, dehiscent fruit that splits on one line of suture

Legume

simple, dry, dehiscent fruit that splits on two lines of suture and is in the Fabaceae

Capsule

simple, dry, dehiscent fruit that splits on two lines or more lines of suture

Pome

simple, fleshy fruit with a woody or papery wall around the interior seeds

Drupe

simple, fleshy fruit with a stony pit that is not separated from the fleshy fruit

Berry

simple, entirely fleshy fruit with many seeds

Hesperidium

simple, fleshy fruit with a leathery exterior and radial sections

Aggregate

compound fruit formed from a single flower

Multiple

compound fruit formed from many flowers

All definitions are from J. W. Hardin, D. J. Leopold, and F. M. White. (2001). Harlow & Harrar's Textbook of Dendrology. Ninth edition. McGraw Hill, New York, New York, 534 pp. ISBN: 0073661716.