A raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle larva) is an aggregate fruit, an aggregate of drupe">raspberry_beetle.html" ;"title="raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle">raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle larva) is an aggregate fruit, an aggregate of drupelets image:Aquilegia vulgaris 004.JPG, The fruit of an ''Aquilegia'' flower is one fruit that forms from several ovaries of one flower, and it is an aggregate of follicles. However, because the follicles are not fused to one another, it is not considered an aggregate fruit An aggregate fruit or etaerio () is a

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

that develops from the merger of several ovaries that were separated in a single

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

. In contrast, a ''simple fruit'' develops from one ovary, and a '' multiple fruit'' develops from multiple flowers. In languages other than English, the meanings of "aggregate" and "multiple" fruit are reversed, so that "aggregate" fruits merge several flowers. The differences in meaning are due to a reversal in the terminology by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

, which has been followed by most English-language authors. Not all flowers with multiple ovaries form aggregate fruit; the ovaries of some flowers do not become tightly joined to make a larger fruit. As a result, many fruits form which are commonly mistaken to be of the aggregate variety. Aggregate fruits may also be

accessory fruit An accessory fruit is a fruit in which some of the flesh is derived not from the floral ovary but from some adjacent tissue exterior to the carpel.Esau, K. 1977. ''Anatomy of seed plants''. John Wiley and Sons, New York. Accessory fruits are ...

s, in which parts of the flower other than the ovary become fleshy and form part of the fruit. The individual parts of an aggregate fruit come in many forms. Common examples are: * drupelets: **

Raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...

Dewberry The dewberries are a group of species in the genus '' Rubus'', section ''Rubus'', closely related to the blackberries. They are small trailing (rather than upright or high-arching) brambles with aggregate fruits, reminiscent of the raspber ...

and

blackberry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...

, also an accessory fruit, with a fleshy

receptacle Receptacle may refer to: Biology * Receptacle (botany), a plant anatomical part * Seminal receptacle, a sperm storage site in some insects Electrical engineering * Automobile auxiliary power outlet, formerly known as ''cigarette lighter recep ...

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not op ...

s: **

Strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely a ...

, also an accessory fruit, with a fleshy receptacle ** '' Ranunculus'' * follicles: ** ''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

'' * samaras: ** ''

Liriodendron tulipifera ''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus '' Liriodendron'' (the othe ...

'' The components of other aggregate fruit are more difficult to define. For example,

sugar apple The sugar-apple or sweet-sop is the edible fruit of '' Annona squamosa'', the most widely grown species of '' Annona'' and a native of tropical climate in the Americas and West Indies. Spanish traders aboard the Manila galleons docking in ...

(''

Annona ''Annona'' (from Taíno ''annon'') is a genus of flowering plants in the pawpaw/ sugar apple family, Annonaceae. It is the second largest genus in the family after '' Guatteria'', containing approximately 166

'' spp.) fruit are made up of individual berry-like pistils fused with the receptacle.

References

{{fruits Fruit morphology

See also

References