Drupe Structure: Coconut Mesocarp — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2017Coconut fruit is a:
Coconut fruit is a:
Answer & NCERT explanation
Correct answer: D — Drupe
Coconut is a drupe - a fleshy fruit with hard endocarp surrounding the seed. The outer fibrous layer (exocarp), middle fleshy layer (mesocarp), and inner hard shell (endocarp) are characteristic of drupes. Though commonly called a nut, botanically it's a drupe like mango and peach according to NCERT classification.
Read more NCERT concept on the PYQ
In coconut which is also a drupe, the mesocarp is fibrous.
NTA tests whether students can identify drupe fruits and recognize that coconuts have a fibrous mesocarp, not a fleshy one like typical drupes. The core concept is understanding the three layers of a drupe (epicarp, mesocarp, endocarp) and their variations across different fruits. Students often mistake all drupes for having soft, edible mesocarp and fail to distinguish coconut's fibrous middle layer from mango or peach. Remember: coconut is unusual—its mesocarp is fibrous (coir), not fleshy, making it adapted for water dispersal. This structural adaptation is testable through fruit classification and dispersal mechanism questions.
What does NCERT say about coconut which also drupe?
Has this concept appeared in NEET?
Which chapter is this from?
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.
88/90MedicNEET's Biology question bank is built from the same NCERT lines NTA picks repeatedly. Not random MCQs — questions crafted exactly like NTA crafts them.