Biology · Morphology of Flowering Plants · NEET
A true fruit develops only from the ripened ovary after fertilisation. A false fruit (also called an accessory fruit) forms when a part other than the ovary also becomes fleshy and edible. In apple, the juicy part you eat grows from the thalamus (receptacle), not the ovary, so apple is a false fruit. This exact idea was tested in NEET 2022.
The pericarp is the fruit wall that develops from the ovary wall. It may be dry or fleshy. When it is thick and fleshy, it is differentiated into three layers: the outer epicarp (skin), the middle mesocarp (pulp), and the inner endocarp (the layer around the seed). In mango, the mesocarp is the juicy part we eat; in coconut, the mesocarp is the fibrous husk.
By NCERT definition a fruit is a mature or ripened ovary, developed after fertilisation. The ovules inside the ovary become seeds. So the ovary becomes the fruit and the ovules become the seeds. Only in false fruits does an extra part (like the thalamus) join in.
In apple, the thalamus swells and becomes the fleshy edible part, so it is false. In mango, the fruit (a drupe) develops only from the ovary, so it is a true fruit. The test for NEET: if the tasty part comes from the ovary alone, it is true; if an accessory part like the thalamus makes the flesh, it is false.
A parthenocarpic fruit forms without fertilisation of the ovary (for example, banana). A false fruit is about which part becomes fleshy (ovary vs thalamus). They are separate ideas: parthenocarpy is about no fertilisation, false fruit is about the thalamus contributing. Do not confuse the two in NEET MCQs.
Which part of the fruit, labelled in the given figure, makes it a false fruit?
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
A fruit is a mature or ripened ovary that develops after fertilisation. It usually has a wall (pericarp) and seeds.
Mango is a true fruit (only ovary forms it). Apple is a false fruit (the thalamus becomes the fleshy part). Cashew and strawberry are other common false fruit examples.
They are the three layers of a fleshy pericarp: epicarp is the outer skin, mesocarp is the middle pulp, and endocarp is the inner layer next to the seed.
No. A false fruit means a part other than the ovary (like the thalamus) forms the flesh. A parthenocarpic fruit forms without fertilisation, such as banana.
Yes. A fruit formed without fertilisation of the ovary is called a parthenocarpic fruit. This is a separate concept covered on the next page.
