Drupes

An indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (the exocarp, or skin, and the mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single hardened endocarp shell (the pit, stone, or pyrena) that contains a seed is referred to as a “drupe” (kernel). These fruits are usually made up of a single carpel and are primarily produced by flowers with superior ovaries.

A drupe’s distinguishing feature is the hard, lignified stone produced by the flower’s ovary wall, which distinguishes it from other fruits. Each drupelet in an aggregate fruit made up of small, individual drupes (like a raspberry) is referred to as a drupelet, and the aggregate fruit can be made up of several drupelets. Despite the fact that botanists use a different definition of the word berry, such fruits are commonly referred to as berries. Other fleshy fruits may have a stony enclosure formed by the seed coat that surrounds the seed, but these fruits are not drupes.

Drupe

Coffee, jujube, mango, olive, most palms (including aça, date, sabal, coconut, and oil palms), pistachio, white sapote, cashew, and all members of the Prunus genus (which includes the almond, apricot, cherry, damson, peach, nectarine, and plum) are all drupe-producing plants. Coffee, jujube, and mango are examples of plants that produce drupe.

The term drupaceous describes a fruit that has the structure and texture of a drupe but does not meet all of the drupe’s requirements.

To name a few, drupes include apricots, olives, loquats, peaches, plums, cherries, mangoes, pecans, and amlas (Indian gooseberries). Sloe (Prunus spinosa) and ivy are two other plants that fit this description (Hedera helix).

The coconut is classified as a simple dry, fibrous drupe rather than a complex dry, fibrous drupe because it is both fibrous and dry (referred to as a husk). Coconut seeds, unlike those of other drupes, are so large that they are unlikely to be swallowed by fauna, but they can float extremely long distances, including across oceans.

Bramble fruits, such as blackberries and raspberries, are made up of clusters of drupelets. In contrast to other fruits, the fruit of blackberries and raspberries is produced by a single flower with a pistil made up of a number of free carpels. Mulberries, on the other hand, are a collection of fruits that are actually derived from clusters of catkins, with each drupelet belonging to a different flower. They are closely related to blackberries.

Certain drupes, such as those found in palm species, can be found in large clusters, with a large number of drupes in a single cluster of leaves. Large drupe clusters can be found in date palms, Jubaea chilensis in central Chile, and Washingtonia filifera in the Sonoran Desert of North America.

Avocado and Coconut

According to botanical definitions, the coconut is biologically a fibrous drupe with only one seed. In some circles, coconut is referred to as a dry drupe. The exocarp, which is the smooth, greenish layer, the mesocarp, which is the fibrous husk, and finally the endocarp, which surrounds the seed, make up the pericarp of a coconut. Coconut is a one-seeded drupe that also happens to be dry in nature, according to botanical experts. When we buy coconut from a store, however, both the mesocarp and the endocarp are removed from the coconut.

An avocado, like a drupe, has a single seed and is entirely made up of the endocarp’s fleshy layer, unlike the latter. Avocados, on the other hand, are classified as berries rather than drupes because their seeds have a fleshy endocarp as opposed to a drupe’s hard endocarp. As a result, avocados are classified as a biological fruit, despite the fact that they are commonly prepared as a vegetable. They’re also single-seeded berries from the bay laurel and cinnamon tree families, respectively. On the other hand, they’re nothing like blueberries or blackberries. Furthermore, some studies have found that they are very similar to drupes.

Drupe vs. Nut?’

In terms of appearance, nuts and dupes appear to be very similar to one another. However, they are diametrically opposed. From a botanical standpoint, it is possible to study and comprehend it. A nut is a fruit with a hard shell around it that protects both the seed and the fruit inside. This layer is made up of the pericarp, the ovary’s outermost layer. The husk that covers the hard shell on the outside of the berry’s hard shell has no ovary or pericarp. Nuts such as hazelnuts, chestnuts, and other varieties are excellent examples of genuine nuts. When it comes to fruit, however, drupe is defined as a fruit with an outer peel that is usually hard and is followed by a fleshy layer that contains a single seed drupe.

Conclusion

A single ovary is produced by each flower, which develops into a drupe, a simple fruit. The outer layer of the ovary wall is a thin skin or peel, the middle layer is thick and usually fleshy (though it can be tough, as in the almond and coconut), and the inner layer is hard and stony, also known as the pit or putamen. The pit, also known as the putamen, is a stony structure that surrounds the egg. One seed is frequently found in a pit, which is frequently confused with the seed itself. Two or three seeds may be found in a pit on rare occasions, but only one will fully develop. Drupes that are representative of their species include mango, walnut, and dogwood.