What is pseudofruit?

Have you ever heard someone say that the apple and cashew part we eat is actually not a fruit? This statement is correct because the fleshy part of the apple and the cashew it is an accessory fruit or pseudo-fruit.

→ What is a pseudo-fruit or accessory fruit?

We can define the fruits as one or more ovaries developed with non-carpelar tissue, which may attach to the ovary as it develops. This fabric is called accessory fabric and, in some cases, it is found in greater quantities than the carpel tissue itself (tissue that forms the carpel, which is where the ovaries of the flower). The fruits that present accessory tissue in greater quantity are called accessory fruits or pseudofruits.

In the case of accessory fruits, what we normally observe is a receptacle or fleshy peduncle. When we eat cashew, for example, we eat a well-developed peduncle, that is, an accessory tissue that is associated with the real fruit. The real fruit of cashews is what we call chestnuts.

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The fleshy part of the cashew is actually the well-developed peduncle.

THE Apple is also an accessory fruitO. The real fruit is in the center of the apple, next to the seeds. What we eat is hypanthus, a cup-shaped structure that surrounds the ovary.

→ Classification of pseudofruits

Fruits are normally classified into single, aggregate and multiple. We must consider this classification when we are going to analyze pseudofruits. In the aggregated fruits, for example, what we see is that the fruticles (mature ovaries that form the aggregated fruits) can be joined by their walls or by accessory tissue. This last case occurs with the Strawberry, in which the fleshy receptacle unites the berries. Strawberry is, therefore, an added accessory fruit. Pineapple, in turn, is a multiple accessory fruit, and apple and pear are simple accessory fruit.

By Ma. Vanessa dos Santos

Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:

SANTOS, Vanessa Sardinha dos. "What is pseudofruit?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/biologia/o-que-e-pseudofruto.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.