1.  What are two ways to count the number of carpels in a fruit?
 
2.  Draw simple diagrams of various placentation types.

3.  Draw a cross-section of a fruit which has 3 carpels, 1 locule, and parietal placentation.

4.  Draw a cross-section of a fruit which has 3 carpels, 3 locules, and axile placentation.

5.  Follicles and capsules are similar in that they both contain numerous seeds.  How do these two fruit types differ?

6.  What is meant by the word epigynous?  Do epigynous flowers have inferior or superior ovaries?

7.  What is a berry?  List some examples.

8.  What is a hesperidium?  List some examples.

9.  What is a pepo?  How many carpels do pepos typically consist of?  What family is characterized by the pepo?

10.  Berries are usually sweet and many-seeded.  Do you think these fruits are dispersed by wind or animals?

11.  What is a samara?  Give an example.  How is it dispersed?

12.  What is an aggregate fruit?  List some examples.

13.  What is a multiple fruit?  List some examples.

14.  What is an accessory fruit?  A strawberry is an example of an accessory fruit.  What are we eating when we eat a strawberry?

15.  What are we eating when we eat an apple?  What type of fruit is an apple?  How about a pear?

16.  What is a drupe?  Draw a cross-section of a drupe and label the parts.  List some examples of fruits which are drupes.  Why are drupes often referred to as stone fruits?

17.  The legume fruit type characterizes the bean family.  Describe or define a legume; i.e., how many carpels are they composed of and how do they dehisce?

18.  What is an achene?  List some examples.

19.  Why might apples be bright red and sweet in nature?  Also, why might the native apples be much smaller than the apples now cultivated by human beings?

20.  What is your favorite fruit?  What is the fruit type?

21.  How many carpels are present in a cucumber?  What is the fruit type?

22.  What is an apricot?

23.  What is an artichoke?  In what family is it included?  What are we eating when we eat an artichoke?

24.  Okra is in the cotton family, the Malvaceae.  What type of fruit is okra?  It has many seeds and is comprised of  more than one carpel.  On that note, does okra originate from a simple or compound pistil?  Is okra ripe when we eat it (are the seeds ready to be released)?

Last Updated 1/23/99