Multiple fruits, also called collective fruits, are fruiting bodies formed from a cluster of

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s, the ''

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

''. Each flower in the inflorescence produces a

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

, but these mature into a single mass. After flowering, the mass is called an

infructescence In botany, infructescence (fruiting head) is defined as the ensemble of fruits derived from the ovaries of an inflorescence. It usually retains the size and structure of the inflorescence. In some cases, infructescences are similar in appearance ...

. Examples are the fig,

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...

, 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 that resembles an immatur ...

, and

jackfruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...

. In contrast, an aggregate fruit such as a raspberry develops from multiple

ovaries The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are endocr ...

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 A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

with receptacle tissues and

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s. As shown in the photograph of the

noni ''Morinda citrifolia'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to Southeast Asia and Australasia, which was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout the tropics and widel ...

, stages of flowering and fruit development in the

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 American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give ...

, 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 have been selectively bred in Polynesia from the breadnut ('' Artocarpus camansi''). Breadfruit was spread into ...

, 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

File:Split ananas.jpg, ''Ananas comosus'' (pineapple) File:Black mulberry fruit (Morus nigra).jpg, ''Morus nigra'' (black mulberry) File:Noni fruit Madagascar1.jpg, ''Morinda citrifolia'' (noni) File:Fig (Ficus carica) fruit halved.jpg, ''Ficus carica'' (fig) File:Osage orange 2.jpg, ''Maclura pomifera'' (Osage orange) File:Platanus x hispanica MHNT.BOT.2007.40.35.jpg, ''Platanus'' spp. (plane tree) File:Jackfruit photo.jpg, ''Artocampus heterophyllus'' (jackfruit)

References

{{Fruits Fruit morphology

Gallery

See also

References