🍑 The Fruit: Ripened Ovaries!

Fruits develop from a flower’s ovary after fertilization. Fun fact: Some fruits form without fertilization—these are called parthenocarpic fruits (like seedless grapes!).

Parts of a Fruit:

  • Pericarp (fruit wall): Can be dry or fleshy.
  • In fleshy fruits (e.g., mango 🥥):
    • Epicarp: Outer skin
    • Mesocarp: Juicy middle layer
    • Endocarp: Inner stony part (the “pit” in mangoes)

Drupe Fruits:

Examples: Mango and Coconut 🌴. Both develop from single-chambered ovaries and have one seed.

  • 🥭 Mango: Soft mesocarp (the yummy part!), stony endocarp.
  • 🥥 Coconut: Fibrous mesocarp (the husk).

🌰 The Seed: Baby Plant Pack!

Seeds form when fertilized ovules mature. Every seed has:

  • Seed coat: Protective outer layer (with 2 parts: testa + tegmen).
  • Embryo: Baby plant inside!

Seed Highlights:

  • Hilum ✨: Scar where seed attached to fruit.
  • Micropyle ⚡️: Tiny pore above hilum.

🌱 Seed Types: Dicot vs. Monocot

Dicot Seeds (e.g., beans, peas):

  • Two cotyledons (seed leaves storing food).
  • Embryo parts:
    • Radicle 👶: Future root
    • Plumule 🌱: Future shoot
    • Embryonal axis: Connects radicle + plumule
  • Non-endospermic: No leftover food tissue (e.g., gram, pea).

Monocot Seeds (e.g., maize):

  • One cotyledon.
  • Usually endospermic: Packed with starchy food tissue 🌽.

⭐ NEET Must-Knows:

  1. Placentation types (e.g., axile in tomato, basal in sunflower).
  2. Fruit layers: Epicarp, mesocarp, endocarp (especially in drupes).
  3. Parthenocarpy: Seedless fruit formation.
  4. Seed structure: Hilum, micropyle, cotyledons (dicot vs. monocot).
  5. Endospermic vs. non-endospermic seeds (e.g., castor vs. bean).