Multi-fruits, also called collective fruits, are fruiting bodies formed from a cluster of
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 ...
s, the ''
inflorescence''. Each flower in the inflorescence produces 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 ...
, but these mature into a single mass. After flowering the mass is called an
infructescence. Examples are the
fig,
pineapple,
mulberry,
osage-orange
''Maclura pomifera'', commonly known as the Osage orange ( ), is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, native to the south-central United States. It typically grows about tall. The distinctive fruit, a multiple fruit, is roughly spherical, ...
, and
jackfruit.
In contrast, an
aggregate fruit such as a raspberry develops from multiple
ovaries of a single flower. In languages other than English, the meanings of "multiple" and "aggregate" fruit are reversed, so that multiple fruits merge several pistils within a single flower.
In some cases, the infructescences are similar in appearance to simple fruits. One example is pineapple (''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.
As shown in the photograph of the
noni, stages of flowering and fruit development in the
noni or Indian mulberry (''Morinda citrifolia'') can be observed on a single branch. First an inflorescence of white flowers called a head is produced. After
fertilization
Fertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a new individual organism or offspring and initiate its development. Pro ...
, each flower develops into a drupe, and as the drupes expand, they become ''connate'' (merge) into a ''multiple fleshy fruit'' called a ''syncarp''. There are also many dry multiple fruits.
Other examples of multiple fruits:
*
Plane tree, multiple achenes from multiple flowers, in a single fruit structure
*
Mulberry, multiple flowers form one fruit
*
Breadfruit
Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of '' Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Phil ...
, multiple flowers form one fruit
*
Fig, multiple flowers similar to mulberry infructescence form a multiple fruit inside the inverted inflorescence. This form is called a
syconium.
Gallery
Split ananas.jpg, ''Ananas'' (pineapple)
Black mulberry fruit (Morus nigra).jpg, ''Morus nigra'' (black mulberry)
See also
*
Compound fruit
References
{{Fruits
Fruit morphology