Infructescence (fruiting head) is defined as the ensemble of
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 ...
s derived from the
ovaries of an
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...
. It usually retains the size and structure of the inflorescence.
In some cases, infructescences are similar in appearance to simple fruits. These are called
multiple fruits. One example is the infructescence of ''
Ananas'', which is formed from the
fusion of the
berries with
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 ...
tissues and
bracts.
The
mature infructescence of a
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legu ...
, such as
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeolog ...
or
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn ( North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. ...
, is known as an
ear. The infructescence of ''
Ficus'' is called a
syconium.
References
Fruit morphology
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