Biology · Morphology of Flowering Plants · NEET
Yes. A parthenocarpic fruit develops from the ovary without fertilisation. Fertilisation is the step that turns ovules into seeds, so with no fertilisation there are no seeds. This is why banana is the classic seedless example. For NEET, remember: parthenocarpy = no fertilisation = no seeds.
NCERT says a normal fruit is a mature or ripened ovary formed AFTER fertilisation. A parthenocarpic fruit is a fruit formed WITHOUT fertilisation of the ovary. So the one-word difference is fertilisation: present in a normal fruit, absent in a parthenocarpic fruit. This also makes parthenocarpic fruits seedless.
Yes. It is still a true fruit-like structure that develops from the ovary, so it still forms a pericarp (the fruit wall). What is missing is the seed, because no fertilisation happened. So you get a fruit wall but empty of seeds.
No, do not mix them up. Parthenocarpy means a FRUIT forms without fertilisation (seedless fruit). Apomixis (from the reproduction chapters) means a SEED forms without fertilisation. Parthenocarpy = seedless fruit; apomixis = seed without meiosis/fertilisation. NEET often tests this contrast.
It is in Class 11 Biology, Morphology of Flowering Plants, section 5.6 The Fruit. The exact NCERT line is: 'If a fruit is formed without fertilisation of the ovary, it is called a parthenocarpic fruit.' Learn this line word-for-word because NEET picks options straight from it.
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
It is a fruit that grows from the ovary without fertilisation. Because fertilisation is skipped, no seeds are made, so the fruit is seedless. Banana is the common example.
Banana is the standard example of a parthenocarpic (seedless) fruit. It develops from the ovary without fertilisation.
Seeds develop from ovules only after fertilisation. In parthenocarpy there is no fertilisation, so the ovules never become seeds and the fruit stays seedless.
Parthenocarpy is about how the fruit forms (without fertilisation), not about the thalamus. It develops from the ovary, so it is fruit-like with a pericarp. True vs false fruit is a separate idea based on whether parts other than the ovary (like the thalamus) form the fruit.
