Fruits

Fruits:
Normally, the fleshy seed-associated structures of a plant that are sweet or sour is known as fruit. These are edible in the raw state, such as apples, bananas, grapes, lemons, oranges, and strawberries. Everyone should include fresh fruits as a part of the diet. Prevention of many chronic disease can be done by regular consumption of fruits. You can add many varieties of local and seasonal fruits such as Apple, Avocardo, Banana, Cherry, Blackcurrent, orange in your diet.

Types of Fruits:

Fruits are categorized into three main groups, simple fruits, aggregate fruits, and composite or multiple fruits.

Simple fruit:

These variety of fruits can be either dry or fleshy, and result from the ripening of a simple or compound ovary in a flower with only one pistil. Types of dry, simple fruits, and examples of each, include:

• achene are most commonly seen in aggregate fruits (e.g., strawberry)
• capsule- (e.g., Brazil nut)
• caryopsis- (e.g., wheat)
• cypsela is an achene-like fruit derived from the individual florets in a capitulum (e.g., dandelion).
• fibrous drupe- (e.g., coconut, walnut)
• follicle is formed from a single carpel, opens by one suture (e.g., milkweed), commonly seen in aggregate fruits (e.g., magnolia)
• legume – (e.g., bean, pea, peanut)
• loment – a type of indehiscent legume
• nut – (e.g., beech, hazelnut, oak acorn)
• samara – (e.g., ash, elm, maple key)
• schizocarp – (e.g., carrot seed)
• silique – (e.g., radish seed)
• silicle – (e.g., shepherd's purse)
• utricle – (e.g., strawberry)

Simple fleshy fruits are fruits in which part or all of the pericarp is fleshy at maturity. Types of simple, fleshy, fruits (with examples) include:

• berry – (e.g., cranberry, gooseberry, redcurrant, tomato)
• stone fruit or drupe (e.g., apricot, cherry, olive, peach, plum)
• An aggregate fruit, or etaerio, is developed from a single flower with numerous simple pistils. Examples include:
• Magnolia and peony are collection of follicles developing from one flower.
• Sweet gum, collection of capsules.
• Sycamore, collection of achenes.
• Teasel, collection of cypsellas
• Tuliptree, collection of samaras.
• The pome fruits from the family of Rosaceae, including apples, pears, rosehips, and saskatoon berry are a syncarpous fleshy fruit, a simple fruit, developing from a half-inferior ovary.

Aggregate fruit:

Aggregate fruits are developed from single flowers that have multiple carpels which are not joined together, i.e. each pistil contains one carpel. Four types of aggregate fruits include etaerios of achenes, follicles, drupelets, and berries(Blackberry, Boysenberry, Raspberry).

Multiple fruits:

A multiple fruit is one that is generated from a cluster of flowers called an inflorescence. Each of the flower produces a fruit, but these mature into a single mass. Pineapple, fig, osage-orange, mulberry and breadfruit are some of the examples.

Berries:

Berries are one type of fleshy fruit. They are simple fruit created from a single ovary. The ovary may be compound, with several carpels. Types include:

• Pepo – berries whose skin is hardened. Examples include: cucurbits(Cucumber, Gourd, Melon, Pumpkin)
• Hesperidium – berries with a rind and a juicy interior, like most citrus fruit such as Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Orange

Accessory fruit:

Accessory fruit ae either simple, aggregate, or multiple, i.e., they can include one or more pistils and other parts from the same flower, or the pistils and other parts of many flowers. Some or all of the edible part of accessory fruit is not generated by the ovary.
Apple, Pineapple, Rose hip, Stone fruit, and Strawberry are some of the example of Accessory fruit.

Seedless fruits:

Seedlessness is an important feature of some fruits. Bananas and pineapples are examples of seedless fruits. Some citrus fruits especially grapefruit, satsumas, mandarin oranges, navel oranges, table grapes, and watermelons are valued for their seedlessness.

Usage of Fruit:

• Fleshy fruits like apple, kiwifruit, mango, peach, pear, and watermelon can be eaten both fresh and as jams, marmalade and other preserves.
• Fruits are used in making foods such as cakes, cookies, ice cream, muffins, or yogurt or beverages, such as fruit juices (e.g., apple juice, grape juice, or orange juice) or alcoholic beverages (e.g., brandy, fruit beer, or wine).
• Fruits are also used for gift giving, in the form of Fruit Baskets and Fruit Bouquets.
• Olive fruit is pressed for olive oil.
• Spices like black pepper, allspice, paprika, and vanilla are derived from berries.

Nutritional value of Fruits:

Fresh fruits are high in fiber, vitamin C, and water. The fibres contained in fruits promote satiety and help lose weight and have cholesterol-lowering effects.
Regular consumption of fruit is generally associated with reduced risks of several diseases and functional declines associated with aging due to its antioxidant property.