Module: | Pre-fertilization: Micro/Megasporogenesis
Q25: Consider the following statements regarding the classification of true and false fruits:
1. True fruits are defined structurally as those that develop exclusively from the fertilized ovary of the flower.
2. In false fruits such as the apple, strawberry, and cashew, the thalamus proliferates and contributes significantly to the fruit formation.
3. False fruits do not contain any seeds because their development bypasses the process of fertilization entirely.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
2. In false fruits such as the apple, strawberry, and cashew, the thalamus proliferates and contributes significantly to the fruit formation.
3. False fruits do not contain any seeds because their development bypasses the process of fertilization entirely.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
✅ Correct Answer: A
The correct option is A. Statements 1 and 2 are correct, whereas Statement 3 is strictly incorrect.
In the vast majority of angiosperms, once fertilization occurs, the ovary swells and develops into a fruit, while other floral parts degenerate and fall off; these are termed true fruits.
However, in certain species, structurally adjacent tissues are recruited for seed dispersal mechanisms.
In apples, strawberries, and cashews, the thalamus (the receptacle at the base of the flower) becomes fleshy, edible, and forms the bulk of the fruit; these are called false fruits.
Statement 3 is a common pedagogical trap: false fruits still undergo normal double fertilization to produce viable seeds within their core (the actual mature ovary). It is parthenocarpic fruits, not false fruits, that bypass fertilization and lack seeds.
In the vast majority of angiosperms, once fertilization occurs, the ovary swells and develops into a fruit, while other floral parts degenerate and fall off; these are termed true fruits.
However, in certain species, structurally adjacent tissues are recruited for seed dispersal mechanisms.
In apples, strawberries, and cashews, the thalamus (the receptacle at the base of the flower) becomes fleshy, edible, and forms the bulk of the fruit; these are called false fruits.
Statement 3 is a common pedagogical trap: false fruits still undergo normal double fertilization to produce viable seeds within their core (the actual mature ovary). It is parthenocarpic fruits, not false fruits, that bypass fertilization and lack seeds.