Question

Fruit of pineapple is
(a) Pome
(b) Sorosis
(c) Hesperidium
(d) Carcerulus

Answer 1

The fruit of pineapple is a fruit that is made up of multiple fruits. This is possible by the fusion of multiple flowers into an inflorescence. This type of fruit is also seen in the plants of Mulberry and Jackfruit.

Complete Answer:
The fruit of pineapple is known as Sorosis. It is a type of composite fruit which means that this fruit was formed from a complete inflorescence. The sorosis fruit usually develops from catkin, spike, or spadix type of inflorescence. The fruit is fleshy in appearance because of the combination of many flowers along with their receptacles, ovaries, etc. Each polygon shape in the pineapple represents a flower. The edible portion of pineapple is formed by the peduncle, perianth, and bracts.

Additional information: Let us look at the other types of fruits mentioned in the options.
Pome: It is a simple fleshy fruit but it is false in nature as it develops from the thalamus of the flower. The flower has a multicarpellary, syncarpous, inferior ovary. Examples- Apple, Pear
Hesperidium: This fruit develops from a flower that has a multicarpellary, syncarpous, superior ovary. The epicarp of these fruits has a thick leathery appearance with the presence of many oil glands. The endocarp is membranous and projects inwards to divide the fruit into many chambers. Examples- Orange, Lemon.
Carcerulus: This fruit develops from a flower having a superior, syncarpous ovary with axile placentation. The fruit further divides into many mericarps. Examples- Salvia, Ocimum (tulsi).
So, the correct option is ‘(b) Sorosis’.

Note:
- Another type of composite fruit is syconus which forms from the hypanthodium inflorescence.
- Pineapples contain an enzyme known as “bromelain” which can digest the proteins that make up the mouth thus digesting the mouth itself. This is why we develop sores in our mouth after eating pineapple.
- But this enzyme is broken down inside our stomach, that is why our stomach does not get digested by this enzyme.
- Pineapples can take more than 2 years to produce fruit and the most popular method to produce new pineapples is cloning.