Question

Pepo fruit is found in
(a) Cruciferae
(b) Cucurbitaceae
(C) Liliaceae
(d) Solanaceae

Answer 1

A fruit develops from a fertilized ovary where the seeds are fertilized. Pepo fruit is a type of simple fruit where the pericarp is fleshy. It is found in the family of plants which usually consists of creepers and climbers.

Complete answer:
Pepo is a special type of false berry wherein the epicarp does not separate from the mesocarp along with the seeds that also remain attached to the placenta which is incurved to form septa. In false berry, the fruit develops from the inferior ovary where the skin is formed by the fusion of the epicarp with the thalamus. The skin of false fruits is also known as exocarp. This type of fruit is a special characteristic of the Cucurbitaceae or gourd family. E.g. Pumpkin, Cucumber, etc.

Additional Information:
- The fruit is divided into simple, aggregate, and composite based on the number and type of ovary.
- A simple fruit develops from a single pistil or carpel while an aggregate fruit is the product of flower- bearing polycarpellary apocarpous pistils. When a whole inflorescence gives birth to fruit, it is known as a composite fruit.
- On the basis of whether the pericarp is fleshy or dry, a simple fruit is succulent or dry respectively.
- In succulent fruits, the pericarp and all the parts associated with it become fleshy. They are of three types namely berries, drupes, and pomes.
- In a true berry, seeds become free and unattached from the placenta.
So, the correct answer is ‘(b) Cucurbitaceae.’

Note:
- The pericarp is the fruit wall, and in the case of succulent fruits, it is fleshy and further differentiated into three layers- the outermost layer i.e epicarp followed by a middle layer i.e mesocarp, and the innermost layer i.e the endocarp.
- In true berries, each of the three layers of the fleshy pericarp is edible as the fruit develops from the superior ovary.