Biology
Updated: 2008-03-29
Please send comments to: J.Elfick@uq.edu.au
9.81 Bulb, onion, Narcissus
See diagram 9.81: Narcissus bulb
Cut the bulb of an onion longitudinally (downwards) through the middle. Note the stem, the outer membranous and inner fleshy scale leaves, and the large central bud containing the remains of foliage leaves and the flower. Dissect a bulb and note the presence of buds in the axils of the scale leaves. Cut a bulb transversely and note the arrangement of the scale leaves. Test the fleshy scale leaves for reducing sugars and starch.
9.82 Corm, Gladiolus
See diagram 9.82: Gladiolus corm
A corm is the swollen base of the flowering stem, usually a monocotyledon. Its surface is sheathed in the bases of withered leaves forming membranous brown scales. Remove the scales to see thin depressed scars where axillary buds form. The upper axillary buds form the next season's leaves and flowering shoot. The lower axillary buds can form little corms or "cormlets" (cormels) that can grow into suckers, separate, and reproduce vegetatively. Cut longitudinally through the middle of a corm, passing through one large bud. Test the cut surface of the stem for reducing sugars and starch.
9.83 Rhizome, ginger, banana
See diagram 9.83: Ginger rhizome
A rhizome is part of a shoot with reduced scale-like leaves. It usually develops horizontally and underground. The apex sends up stems or leaves. The rhizome is composed of a series of segments that have arisen from axillary buds. At the apex of each segment is the apical bud (terminal bud) that forms the large strap-shaped, vertical, sheathing leaves and the flowering axis. The ginger rhizome is hard and compressed sideways. Inside it is pale yellow. It is covered with scales and has fine fibrous roots.
The "stem" of the banana is a false stem (pseudostem). The true stem is an underground stem, a rhizome. The swollen stem base is a corm with very short internodes. The corm makes shoots that grow into branches or other corms. New plants come from these shoots. Suckers grow from the dormant buds, the "eyes" on the corm. Each sucker formed is higher than the corm it came from. When the land is sloping, the suckers are usually formed on the uphill side so generations of banana plants will gradually move up a hill.
9.84 Runners, strawberry
A runner is a stolon, i.e. a long lateral shoot producing roots at intervals. The shoot between the roots dies to form new individual plants. Plant a well-developed strawberry plant in spring in a dish. Put the dish on a windowsill and water regularly so that the soil does not become either too moist or too dry. Note the runners that grow out of the leaf axils.
9.85 Stem tuber, potato tuber (Irish potato)
See diagram 9.85: Potato tuber with sprouting axillary buds to form aerial shoots
A stem tuber is the swollen end of an axillary underground branch developed at one of the lower stem nodes from dormant axillary buds, the "eyes". Each "eye" can reproduce the plant. Cut the potato and do the iodine test for starch.
9.86 Stem tuber, potato, starch grains
See diagram 9.86: Potato cell
Scrape a freshly cut surface of a potato tuber with a blunt knife. Transfer some milky fluid on the knife to a drop of water on a slide, then apply a coverslip. Find isolated grains under low power then high power. Note the structure of the starch grains.
9.87 Tuberous roots, root tuber, sweet potato
See diagram 9.87: Sweet potato tuber
In many biennials and perennials the main taproot, and sometimes the chief lateral roots, is very much swollen with stored food. When the aerial organs have died down, they preserve the plant until the next season. In these tuberous roots the new shoot develops at the expense of the reserve foods. Tubers form by secondary thickening of  some adventitious secondary roots near the soil surface. As it is a root tuber the sweet potato tuber has are no nodes or internodes or reduced leaves. The end neared the main plant,  the "crown" end, may produce shoots, stems and foliage. This end can be cut off and used as planting material. The end furthest from the main plant may produce secondary roots. Examine a sweet potato tuber (tuberous root).
Asexual reproduction, vegetative reproduction, artificial methods
9.88 Auxins, growth substances
Put oats or barley or wheat grains in a flat dish containing tap water. The next day, sow the grains in a pot. When the seedlings are 3 cm high, cut off 10 mm from the tips of two-thirds of the shoots. Leave one third of the seedlings not treated as a control. Dissolve 1 g of gelatine, with heating, in 20 mL of demineralized water. Use this solution to stick the shoot tips back on half the cut seedlings. Note any further growth. The seedlings without a shoot tip stop growing. The seedlings with the shoot tips stuck on again continue to grow almost as much as the control seedlings. The growth substance, auxin, diffuses out of the replaced tips down through the gelatine and into the cut end, allowing the plant to continue to grow.
9.89 Cuttings, cuttings powder, e.g. "Root Strike"
Use plant cutting powder, rooting powder, to stimulate and produce healthy roots on cuttings. The active constituents of the powder are usually indole acetic acid, IAA (the main auxin of most plants), or indolebutyric acid, or naphthalene acetic acid. Select healthy end growth 10 mm or less in diameter after the growth period of the plant. Cut at an angle or select a "heel", where a branch joins. Keep two terminal leaves. Moisten the cut end of the cutting, dip it into the cutting powder and plant into free draining soil. Water the cuttings daily. Plant next to the side of a glass container to see the changes near the cut surface.
9.90 Cuttings, leaf cuttings, Begonia
Make cuts in the veins below the leaf. Plant the cut leaf in the soil and water.
9.91 Cuttings, root cuttings, phlox, hollyhocks, wild cherry
Cut horizontally at the top of the root and cut at an angle at the base of the root for easy insertion into the ground. Also, cut off the top of the plant just above the ground to form new shoots.
9.92 Cuttings, stem cuttings, top cuttings, geranium, poppy, fuchsia, chrysanthemum, blackcurrant.
Put one end of a cut stem in damp sand. Note the wound tissue, callus, that develops from which roots form. At the other end, dormant lateral buds form new shoots.
9.93 Grafting, bud grafting, orange, rose, fruit trees, apple, pear, plum
See diagram 9.93: Budding and grafting, shield graft, saddle graft
Grafting is used to propagate plants where the tissues of one plant are physically fused with the tissues of another plant. It is used widely in commercial horticulture for propagating gymnosperm and dicotyledon trees and shrubs. Monocotyledons do not have enough vascular cambium, the thin layer between bark and wood, necessary for grafting. One plant, the stock or rootstock, is chosen for the qualities of its roots. The other plant, the scion, is chosen for the qualities of its stems, leaves, flowers or fruits. For successful grafting, the vascular cambium of the stock and scion must be aligned so they can grow together. The scion and stock will fuse to form a single plant. A shoot from such a graft shows the character of the scion, not of the stock that nourishes the scion. Successful grafts are usually between closely related plants.
Remove a bud from a plant with a small strip of bark and cambium, then insert it into a T-shape slit in the stock. Tightly bind and wax the parts. When the two areas of cambium are in contact, they produce a callus, thin-walled parenchyma that joins the two surfaces together.
9.94 Grafting, shoot grafting, citrus
Citrus trees can be grafted on rootstocks of Poncirus trifoliata. Insert a cut twig, the scion, into an incision on the stem or root of another plant, the stock. Bind the two tightly together to give firm contact between the cut surfaces. Cover the join with an antiseptic wax to prevent infection.
9.95 Layering, air layering, carnation, rubber plant, lilac, rhododendron, rose, clematis, blackberry
Bend a branch down over the soil and fix pegs so that some nodes are below the surface. Adventitious roots grow from the buried nodes. The axillary bud near the peg grows upwards into an aerial shoot. Cut the layered stem from the parent plant and let it grow independently. For air layering of the rubber plant, make a longitudinal cut below a node almost to the centre of the stem. Treat the cut with plant cutting powder then bind on moist cotton wool covered with polythene film. Roots form in the layering.
9.96 Whip and tongue grafting, fruit and ornamental trees
See diagram 9.96: Whip and tongue grafting
1. Cut the stock within 10 cm of the ground level. Make a long slanting upward cut on the stock about 4 cm long.
2. Make a small downward cut on the stock to form a tongue near the top of the slanting cut. Make a similar slanting downward cut on the scion, leaving a bud midway on the opposite side of the cut. Make a tongue on the scion to correspond with the tongue on the stock.
3. Fit the tongue of the scion neatly into the tongue of the stock to hold the graft firmly in position. The cut surfaces must be flush.
4. Bind the graft with moistened string and apply some warm grafting wax or bituminous tree dressing, e.g. "Arberex", to make the joint airtight and watertight. In all grafting the vital area is the "cambium layer", the thin green layer that lies between bark and wood. See it in any young stem that is cut through diagonally. The cambium cells can divide, grow and knit with similar cells, so the cambium of the scion must be in direct contact with the cambium of the stock.
9.97 Plant parts will grow roots
Obtain a box of sand and put it out of direct sunlight. Wet the sand thoroughly and keep it moist.
Plant any of the following in the sand:
1. various bulbs, 2. cuttings of Begonia and Geranium stems, 3. a section of sugar cane stem with a joint buried in the sand,  4. a section of bamboo stem with a, joint buried in the sand, 5. carrot, radish and beet tops, each with a small piece of root attached,  6. an onion, 7.  an iris stem 8. pieces of potato containing "eyes", 9. a branch of willow.
Sexual reproduction of angiosperms, flowers
9.98 Parts of a dicotyledon flower, K, C, A, G, P, hibiscus, tomato, lily, chilli, buttercup, Delphinium, Caltha, Capsella
See diagram 9.98: Parts of a dicotyledon flower,
Labels: 1. sepal (all the sepals = calyx, K), 2. petal (all the petals = corolla, C), 3a. anther, 3b. filament (anther + filament = stamen, all the stamens = androecium, A), 4a. stigma, 4b. style, 4c. ovary (stigma + style + ovary = gynoecium or pistil, G), 5. receptacle, 6. flower stalk (pedicel), 7. ovules inside the ovary
A flower grows from the axil of scale leaf or bract and represents a modified shoot. The flower stalk, pedicel, forms a receptacle as a base for the flower parts arranged in concentric whorls or in spirals. Flowers may be hermaphrodite with both stamens and carpels or have only stamens or only carpels. The perianth (P) is usually in two whorls but may be absent. The outer whorl of the perianth, the calyx (K), contains the leaf-like sepals that protect the bud. The inner whorl of the perianth, the corolla (C), contains the petals that are usually showy, coloured and scented to attract insects. The male part, the androecium (A), refers to the stamens that produce pollen and are arranged inside the corolla. The female part, the gynoecium (G), or pistil, refers to the carpels in the centre of the flower. The carpels contain the ovules that form seeds after fertilization. Fruits develop from the carpels, and sometimes other structures. The floral formula shows the number of parts in the calyx (K), corolla (C), androecium (A), and gynoecium (G). Perianth (P) is used when no separate calyx and corolla exist. The symbol oo (infinity) stands for a large and indefinite number of parts. Fusion between parts is shown by brackets round the number, e.g. K(5) = fusion of 5 sepals, K 5 means 5 separate sepals.
Dissect flowers and write the floral formulas. Cut the ovary crosswise and count the ovules or "seed pockets". Look for seeds in the ovules. Rub an anther from a stamen on black paper to see the pollen will usually be seen. Observe the pollen with a microscope.
9.99 Inflorescences
See diagram 9.99: Different types of inflorescence
Plants can bear flowers singly or grouped in an inflorescence. Each flower usually has its own stalk, the pedicel. Where the pedicels join the main stalk, the peduncle, is a bract. A spike is a simple axis with successively younger sessile flowers, so it has no pedicels, e.g. Gladiolus, red clover. A catkin is a unisexual spike without petals that usually hangs down, e.g. mulberry, willow, oak, birch. A spadix is a fleshy spike covered with male and female flowers, e.g. arum lily. A raceme is similar to a spike but the flowers have pedicels, e.g. sweet pea. A panicle is an open, repeatedly branched raceme bearing many flowers, e.g. oats and other grasses. A corymb is a raceme with all flowers at one level with the youngest flower in the centre, e.g. apple, rowan, hawthorn. An umbel has flower stalks all arising together at the end of the main stalk, e.g. carrot, parsley, fennel, frangipani, Hydrangea, Lantana. A capitulum, or head, has flowers densely packed on a common receptacle with the youngest at the centre, e.g. sunflower, dandelion, daisy. A cyme has the main axis ending in a flower, the oldest flower, with younger flowers on lateral branches. A spathe is huge bract that can enclose the inflorescence, e.g. coconut. Collect plants with different types of inflorescence. Note the peduncle, pedicels, and bracts, and their relative positions.
9.100 Fruits and seeds, types of fruits
See diagram 5.4.2: Pollination, fertilization, fruit formation | See diagram 9.100.1: Pollination | See diagram 9.100.2: Fertilization
1. Dry indehiscent fruits, fruit does not open to let the seeds out
1.1 An achene has one carpel, one seed attached to hard pericarp, e.g. buttercup, strawberry, rose, cashew, sunflower.
1.2 A caryopsis or grain usually has one carpel, ovary wall, pericarp and seed coat, testa, fused together, e.g. cereals, grasses, wheat, maize, rice.
1.3 A samara has a pericarp that forms wings, e.g. maple, sycamore, ash.
1.4 A cypsela has two carpels, like an achene but it has an inferior ovary (buried in the receptacle), e.g. dandelion, sunflower, daisy.
1.5 A schizocarp has carpels fused together to form an ovary that splits when ripe, e.g. geranium, mallow, hollyhock.
1.6 A nut has more than 1 carpel and a woody wall, e.g. macadamia nut, hazel nut (a peanut is not a nut!).
2. Dry dehiscent fruits, fruit opens to let the seeds out
2.1 A follicle has one carpel and it dehisces (splits) along one margin only, e.g. oleander, Grevillea, larkspur, columbine.
2.2 A legume, pod, has one carpel and it dehisces (splits) along both margins, e.g. legumes, pea, bean, lentil, acacia, peanut (groundnut), cowpea, tamarind.
2.3 A lomentum has one carpel and the pod is constricted between seeds so it breaks into one seed pieces, e.g. clover, Cassia, bird's foot trefoil.
2.4 A siliqua (silique) has two united carpels, e.g. shepherd's purse, stock, cabbage.
2.5 A capsule has three or more carpels and it opens by pores or splits, e.g. Eucalyptus, Leptospermum, poppy, lily, pansy, violet, iris, snapdragon, cotton, castor oil, kapok, okra, rosella.
3. Succulent fruits, "true" succulent fruits, fleshy fruits
The succulent part of a "true fruit" is formed from the ovary wall.
3.1 A berry has more than two carpels and the pericarp is divided into 1. skin, epicarp, 2. fleshy or fibrous mesocarp, 3. thin skin, endocarp, e.g. chillies, tomato, capsicum, egg plant, banana, gooseberry, date, currant, grape, avocado, papaya, passionfruit, allspice pimento, pomegranate, guava, mangosteen, carambola (star fruit), pumpkin, melon, cucumber, marrow, squash, snake gourd, gooseberry, currant, chilli, tomato, banana, grape.
3.2 A drupe has one carpel above the receptacle. The pericarp is the outer skin, epicarp. The mesocarp is fleshy or fibrous. The endocarp is hard and stony. It encloses one seed, kernel, e.g. "stone fruit": cherry, peach, apricot, plum, almond, cocoa, coconut, mango, cashew, coffee, pepper, nutmeg (walnut 2 carpels)
Succulent fruits, "false" succulent fruits
The succulent part of a "false" fruit is not formed from the ovary wall, e.g. fleshy receptacle of an apple or fleshy axis of a pineapple.
3.3 A pome has a "core", the ovary, and a fleshy receptacle, e.g. apple, pear, quince. You can bite into the fleshy receptacle of a ripe apple.
3.4 A hesperidum has many fused carpels, with pulp and tough rind containing oil glands, e.g. citrus, orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime.
3.5 An aggregate fruit, syncarp, is a collection of several carpels from one flower, e.g. blackberry, breadfruit, custard apple, fig (a syconium), jack fruit, mulberry, Pandanas, pineapple, raspberry, rose hip (achenes), strawberry (achenes).
Collect different fruit, slice each fruit transversely and longitudinally, and determine the type of fruit.
4. In pip fruit, stone fruit and berries distinguish between:
4.1 the seeds that differ in size and number,
4.2 the fruit pulp which can be juicy,
4.3 the peel or skin that has different thicknesses and may contain oil glands.
4.4 You eat the fruit pulp and the skin of pip and stone fruits, but, not as a rule, the seeds. With the berries, you usually eat the whole fruit.
Allocate fruits to these  groups and note which parts of which fruits can be used for food. Cut the fruits in half lengthways.
5. The apple has a core in the middle of the fruit containing pips, the seed of the apple tree. So the apple is a pip fruit. The pear and quince are other examples of pip fruits but the core is surrounded by the mesocarp or fruit pulp enclosed by the peel.
6. The cherry has a seed with a very hard shell in the middle of the fruit called the stone. The plum, apricot and peach are also stone fruit. The name "cherry pip" is also used colloquially, but is not technically correct. The stone of the stone fruits, like the core of the pip fruits, is surrounded by fruit pulp enclosed in a skin.
7. A gooseberry has many pips distributed in the fruit pulp and not enclosed in a core as with the pip fruits. Fruits of this kind are called berries. You talk of the gooseberry, the raspberry and the strawberry, which are similarly rightly included among the berries. The fruit pulp of the berries is also surrounded by peel or skin.
8. When squeezing open a pea pod, you find the many seeds, the peas, lying in a hollow space. This is also the case with bean pods. You call such a fruit pod a "fruit". In legumes the seeds, peas or beans, are suspended in a pod. With the bean plant, you eat either the entire fruit (green beans as soup, a vegetable or salad) or only the seeds (e.g. bean soup made from white, dried beans). With the pea, you eat only the seeds in pea soup, green peas as a vegetable or peas pudding. Some peas can be eaten whole including the pea pod and enclosed seeds. In France these peas are called "mange tous" (eat all) peas.
9.101 Dispersal of seed and fruit
Examine the dispersal mechanisms of seeds and fruits.
1. Dispersal by animals
Birds eat fleshy parts of blackberry or cherry drupes but not the hard seeds protected by a hard endocarp. Birds are irritated by the sticky receptacle of mistletoe fruit so it wipes the fruit on branches. Animals carry hooked fruits, burs, in their coats, e.g. capitulum of common burdock covered by spiny bracts. The weed cobbler's pegs has toothed bristles that attach the fruit to your socks.
2. Dispersal by wind
Dandelion, thistle and other Compositae have a ring of white hairs, pappus, to form a parachute and carry the achene. Seeds of willow have tufted hairs. Poppy has a pepper-pot mechanism to shake out tiny seeds from its capsule. Similarly Eucalyptus and Leptospermum have a capsule that opens by slits. The fruit of the castor bean, Ricinus, suddenly split apart to throw out seeds. Clematis and wood avens have plumed fruit. The elm tree and the ash tree have winged fruit. Orchids have extremely light seeds. Spinifex and various "tumble weeds" produce a ball-like cluster of fruits to be bowled along by the wind
3. Dispersal by water
Waterlily seeds and fruit can float. Also, coconut fruits can float but they may not be viable after some time.
4. Mechanical dispersal
The drying pods of peas, beans, Wistaria and other legumes twist to send out seeds like a catapult. Geranium has a splitting schizocarp. The squirting cucumber, Ecballium, squirts out its seeds.
Plant growth, mitosis
9.102 Growth of a radicle, zone of elongation, broad bean root
See diagram 9.102: Growth of a broad bean root
The increase in root length results from growth in the zone of elongation between the root tip and where the root hairs begin. Germinate a broad bean seed. When its radicle is 2 cm long, mark with Indian ink from the tip upwards at intervals of exactly a millimetre, for about 10 mm. Use a wide-necked jar with a cork lid and half full of water. Push a long pin through the cork and the seed to suspend the seedling in the jar with the root in the water. Wrap aluminium foil around the jar to keep the root in the dark. The next day, note how the ink marks have moved apart because of the growth of the root. The ink marks have moved different distances apart. The marks near the root tip have not parted much. The marks further away have parted further but the top marks and may not have parted at all.
9.103 Growth of a young shoot, sunflower, castor seedlings
See diagram 9.103: Castor bean seedling
Do a similar experiment with a young shoot. Grow the seedlings on damp sawdust or potting mix.
9.104 Growth of the first internode, runner bean seedlings
Measure the daily increase in length of the first internode. Record these measurements for two weeks, then plot the data on a graph.
9.105 Seedlings growing in the light and in the dark, pea
Soak same-size seeds, e.g. pea or bean, in water and sow in same-size flowerpots. Put one pot in a well light place and the other pot in the dark. After the seedlings in the light grow to a height of three centimetres, compare the seedlings grown in the light and in the dark. Remove the plants from the pots, wash and dry them and weigh them. The etiolated plants grown in the dark are taller but their dry weight per plant is less than the plants grown in the light.
9.106 Grow plants in the classroom without soil
Put a potato, sweet potato, arrowhead vine, and tops of carrot, beet, turnip, pineapple in a container and keep the lower third covered with water or mineral water. Press toothpicks or matches into the sides to rest the plant parts on the rim of the container. The tops produce foliage but not new plants.
9.107 Mitosis in onion root tip cells
See diagram 9.107.1: Mitosis in onion cells | See diagram 9.107.2: Cell division onion root tip
Mitotic cell division is the basis of growth and tissue repair in multicellular organisms - it keeps the chromosome number constant.

1. Put an onion in moist absorbent paper in a warm place to obtain roots. Cut off 1 cm lengths from the ends of roots and fix them in a solution of 1 part glacial acetic acid to 3 parts 95% alcohol. Leave for 24 hours. Put a piece of root in a drop of aceto-carmine on a slide. Cut off 3 mm of the tip and discard the rest. Gently warm over a spirit lamp. Place a coverslip over the drop of stain. Wrap absorbent paper over the thumb, then gently squash the pieces of root tip by pressing on the coverslip with a rolling motion. Be careful! Do not break the coverslip because the broken pieces are very sharp and dangerous. Do not allow the coverslip to slide. These cells will show stages in mitosis.
2. In the morning, cut 5 mm from the end of a growing root of onion or pea. Cut the piece of root twice longitudinally. Put the longitudinal sections in a drop of carmine acetic acid on a microscope slide. Cover with a coverslip and heat to boiling point holding the slide with forceps and holding it over a small Bunsen burner flame by moving the slide backwards and forwards to prevent excessive heating in one place. Put a drop of 2% acetic acid at the side of the coverslip and draw it across under the coverslip with absorbent paper on the opposite side. Press down on the coverslip with a scalpel handle to squash the cells. Be careful not to break the coverslip as the broken pieces are very sharp. Examine the cells under high power. Look for dividing nuclei at different stages of development, prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. Count the number of chromosomes, e.g. onion 16 and pea 14. Find the different stages and count the number of separate stages. Use this information to estimate the relative lengths of time for each stage during mitosis. The process takes about two hours with prophase taking two-thirds of the time. Repeat the experiment with root tip specimens taken at different times.
3. Plant an onion or shallot in moist absorbent paper in a warm place to obtain roots. Cut off 1 cm lengths from the ends of roots and fix them in a solution of 1 part glacial acetic acid to 3 parts 95% alcohol. Leave for 24 hours. Put a piece of root in a drop of aceto-carmine on a slide. Cut off 3 mm of the tip and discard the rest. Gently warm over a lamp (light) bulb. Place a coverslip over the drop of stain and apply gentle pressure to separate the cells. These cells will show stages in mitosis.

9.3.17 Post-fertilization changes outside the ovule
Hermaphrodite flowers Stamens and pistil in the same flower, Most familiar flowers, legumes, rose, potato, Grevillea, Primula
Monoecious (unisexual) (diclinous) Stamens and pistil in separate flowers on the same plant, beech, oaks, hazel, sycamore
Dioecious (unisexual) Stamens and pistil in separate flowers on different plants, date palm, willow, poplar, hop
9.3.18 Fate of the parts of the flower, floral organs
Ovule Seed
Integuments Seed coats
Nucellus Shrivels to thin papery layer
Fusion nucleus of the embryo sac Endosperm tissue for food storage and nutrition of the embryo
Ovum Embryonic plant
Antipodals Usually shrivel, sometimes persists as absorbing mechanism for endosperm
Synergids Usually shrivel and are absorbed by the developing embryo
The ovule becomes a seed. The ovum (egg) inside the ovule becomes the embryo plant (baby plant). The calyx, corolla, stamens, stigma and style usually shrivel and fall off. The ovary forms a fruit. Examine the flowers of a plant and follow the fate of the different parts of the flowers until mature fruit forms.
9.5.0.1 Classification of fruits
Fruit type Name Description Examples
Dry indehiscent fruits Achene 1 carpel, one seed attached to hard pericarp Compositae family, buttercup, Clematis (strawberry, rose), cashew, sunflower
" Caryopsis or grain usually 1 carpel, ovary wall, pericarp and seed coat, testa, fused together cereals, grasses, wheat, maize, rice
" Samara pericarp forms wings maple, sycamore, ash
" Cypsela 2 carpels, like achene but inferior ovary Compositae family, dandelion, sunflower, daisy
" Schizocarp syncarpous ovary splits when ripe geranium, mallow, hollyhock
" Nut more than 1 carpel, woody wall macadamia nut, hazel nut
Dry dehiscent fruits Follicle 1 carpel, dehisce along one margin oleander Nerium, Delphinium, Grevillea, kurrajong, larkspur, columbine
" Legume, pod 1 carpel, dehisce along both margins Family Leguminosae, pea, bean, lentil, Acacia, peanut (ground nut), cowpea, tamarind, Corydalis, Cleome
" Lomentum 1 carpel, legume pod constricted between seeds clover, Cassia, bird's foot trefoil
" Siliqua (silicule) 1 carpel, legume with constrictions between seeds pod of Family Cruciferae, shepherd's purse, stock, cabbage
" Capsule 3+ carpels, dehisce by pores or splits Eucalyptus, Leptospermum, poppy, lily pansy, violet, iris, snapdragon, scarlet pimpernel, cotton, castor oil, kapok, okra, roselle, opium
True succulent fruits, fleshy fruits Berry 2+ carpels, pericarp = skin epicarp, fleshy or fibrous mesocarp, thin skin endocarp
(pepo or gourd has one cavity, pulp interior)		 chillies, tomato, capsicum, egg plant, banana, gooseberry, date, currant, grape, avocado, papaya, passion fruit, allspice pimento, pomegranate, guava, mangosteen, carambola (star fruit) (pepo: pumpkin, melon, cucumber, marrow, squash, snake gourd)
" Drupe 1 superior carpel, pericarp = skin epicarp, fleshy or fibrous mesocarp, thin skin endocarp stony endocarp encloses seed (kernel) "stone fruit", cherry, peach, apricot, plum, almond, cocoa, coconut, mango, cashew, coffee (walnut 2 carpels), pepper, nutmeg
False succulent fruits Pome "core" = ovary, fleshy receptacle apple, pear, quince
" Hesperidum many fused carpels, with pulp and tough rind containing oil glands Citrus, orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime
" Aggregate fruit, syncarp collection of several carpels from one flower pineapple, custard apple, rose hip (achenes), strawberry (achenes), blackberry, breadfruit, jack fruit, fig (called syconium) raspberry, blackberry, mulberry, pandanas