Drupe Fruits and Pericarp Layers — NEET Biology
📚 Practice ConceptIn mango and coconut, the fruit is known as a drupe. They develop from monocarpellary superior ovaries and are one seeded. In mango the pericarp is well differentiated into an
Which of the following statements about fruits, with a special focus on drupes, are correct? S1: Fruits are characteristic features of flowering plants, developing from a mature or ripened ovary after fertilization, or sometimes without fertilization. S2: Drupe fruits consistently develop from inferior ovaries and always contain multiple seeds. S3: In mango, the pericarp is well differentiated, featuring an outer thin epicarp, a middle fleshy edible mesocarp, and an inner stony hard endocarp. S4: The coconut fruit, categorized as a drupe, exhibits a fibrous mesocarp, which differentiates it from mango's fleshy mesocarp, but shares the characteristic stony endocarp. S5: All fruits with a stony endocarp are classified as drupes, irrespective of the nature of their mesocarp or the number of seeds they contain.
View solution & NCERT explanation
Correct answer: C — S1, S3 and S4
The question pertains to the characteristics and development of fruits, particularly drupes, as described in NCERT Chapter 5, 'The Fruit'. S1: This statement is correct. NCERT states, 'The fruit is a characteristic feature of the flowering plants. It is a mature or ripened ovary, developed after fertilisation. If a fruit is formed without fertilisation of the ovary, it is called a parthenocarpic fruit.' This confirms that fruits can develop both with and without fertilization. S2: This statement is incorrect. NCERT specifies that drupes 'develop from monocarpellary superior ovaries and are one seeded.' Therefore, they do not develop from inferior ovaries and are not multi-seeded. S3: This statement is correct. NCERT describes mango as a drupe where 'the pericarp is well differentiated into an outer thin epicarp, a middle fleshy edible mesocarp and an inner stony hard endocarp.' S4: This statement is correct. NCERT explicitly mentions, 'In coconut which is also a drupe, the mesocarp is fibrous.' It also shares the stony hard endocarp characteristic of drupes, confirming its classification as a drupe despite the fibrous mesocarp. S5: This statement is incorrect. While a stony endocarp is a key feature of drupes, the statement overgeneralizes by saying 'All fruits with a stony endocarp are classified as drupes' and 'irrespective of the nature of their mesocarp or the number of seeds they contain.' Drupes are specifically one-seeded and develop from monocarpellary superior ovaries. Other fruits might have stony parts but would not be classified as drupes if they do not meet all criteria. Based on the analysis, statements S1, S3, and S4 are correct. The final answer is C.
What does NCERT say about mango and coconut fruit?
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Through deep analysis of NEET and NTA, 88 of 90 questions from the NEET 2026 paper were matched straight from the MedicNEET Biology question bank.
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