Tuesday Lecture – Fruits and Nuts of Temperate Regions

Tuesday Lecture – Fruits and Nuts of Temperate Regions
Reading: Textbook, Chapter 3 Today we will start making a survey of crops that are used as food by people. We will begin by considering the botanical definition of a fruit, because this is the part of the plant that is most frequently consumed.

Collect assignment – Origin of Foods
In this lecture, we will make a survey of selected plants, the fruit of which is used as food. The placement of these foods on the familiar USDA Nutrition Pyramid helps to illustrate the contrast between botanical and colloquial uses of the term “fruit”. The grains that are used to make bread products are the 1-seeded fruits of the grass family (Poaceae). So fruits are found in 4 of the 6 major food groups recognized by USDA. Members of the Fruit Group are all botanical fruits. Some, but not all, vegetables are also fruits – examples include tomatoes, squash, and beans. Nuts, which are placed in the meat group are typically either fruits, or the seeds of fruits.

Quiz What is a fruit? Give an example. Also give an example of a plant food that we eat that is not a fruit. In what century, and in what part of our country did Johny Appleseed live? In this lecture, we will make a survey of selected plants, the fruit of which is used as food. The placement of these foods on the familiar USDA Nutrition Pyramid helps to illustrate the contrast between botanical and colloquial uses of the term “fruit”. The grains that are used to make bread products are the 1-seeded fruits of the grass family (Poaceae). So fruits are found in 4 of the 6 major food groups recognized by USDA. Members of the Fruit Group are all botanical fruits. Some, but not all, vegetables are also fruits – examples include tomatoes, squash, and beans. Nuts, which are placed in the meat group are typically either fruits, or the seeds of fruits.

Vegetable Fruits and Meaty Nuts
In this lecture, we will make a survey of selected plants, the fruit of which is used as food. The placement of these foods on the familiar USDA Nutrition Pyramid helps to illustrate the contrast between botanical and colloquial uses of the term “fruit”. The grains that are used to make bread products are the 1-seeded fruits of the grass family (Poaceae). So fruits are found in 4 of the 6 major food groups recognized by USDA. Members of the Fruit Group are all botanical fruits. Some, but not all, vegetables are also fruits – examples include tomatoes, squash, and beans. Nuts, which are placed in the meat group are typically either fruits, or the seeds of fruits.

What is a Fruit? Fruit = mature ovary (for a botanist)
The technical meaning of the term “fruit” is a mature ovary. We have a variety of colloquial terms that can be used at times for what a botanist would call a fruit.

Flowers to Fruits Fruit (with 1+ seeds) Ovary (in flower) With ovules
The ovary is the part of the flower that contains the ovules. If the ovules are fertilized, they will develop into seeds as the ovary matures into a fruit.

Fruit Types Major Distinctions: dry vs. fleshy See Table 3.1, p. 54
Also Fig. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 pages 56-57 People classify things, and fruits are not exception. The designation of fruit types is based on a number of contrasts, including whether or not a fruit loses most of its water when mature, whether or not it has a regular mechanism to split open and release the seeds, and how many ovaries make up the fruit and where they are derived. A summary of the major types and how they differ is provided in text Table 3.1.

Fruit Types Major Distinctions: dry vs. fleshy
dehiscent vs. indehiscent See Table 3.1, p. 54 Also Fig. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 pages 56-57 People classify things, and fruits are not exception. The designation of fruit types is based on a number of contrasts, including whether or not a fruit loses most of its water when mature, whether or not it has a regular mechanism to split open and release the seeds, and how many ovaries make up the fruit and where they are derived. A summary of the major types and how they differ is provided in text Table 3.1.

dehiscent vs. indehiscent product of 1 ovary vs. 2+ ovaries See Table 3.1, p. 54 Also Fig. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 pages 56-57 People classify things, and fruits are not exception. The designation of fruit types is based on a number of contrasts, including whether or not a fruit loses most of its water when mature, whether or not it has a regular mechanism to split open and release the seeds, and how many ovaries make up the fruit and where they are derived. A summary of the major types and how they differ is provided in text Table 3.1.

dehiscent vs. indehiscent product of 1 ovary vs. 2+ ovaries product of 1 flower vs. multiple flowers See Table 3.1, p. 54 Also Fig. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 pages 56-57 People classify things, and fruits are not exception. The designation of fruit types is based on a number of contrasts, including whether or not a fruit loses most of its water when mature, whether or not it has a regular mechanism to split open and release the seeds, and how many ovaries make up the fruit and where they are derived. A summary of the major types and how they differ is provided in text Table 3.1.

dehiscent vs. indehiscent product of 1 ovary vs. 2+ ovaries product of 1 flower vs. multiple flowers See Table 3.1, p. 54 Also Fig. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 pages 56-57 People classify things, and fruits are not exception. The designation of fruit types is based on a number of contrasts, including whether or not a fruit loses most of its water when mature, whether or not it has a regular mechanism to split open and release the seeds, and how many ovaries make up the fruit and where they are derived. A summary of the major types and how they differ is provided in text Table 3.1. Pericarp – fruit wall endocarp (inside) mesocarp (middle) exocarp (outside)

Dry, Indehiscent Fruits – Achene, Grain
Achene – 1-seeded, fruit and seed wall separate Fruits that have 1 seed do not need to split open to release the seed. Achenes and grains are similar, but differ in whether the fruit and seed wall remain separate or become fused to one another.

Dry, Indehiscent Fruits – Achene, Grain
Achene – 1-seeded, fruit and seed wall separate Chapter 5 Grain – 1-seeded, fruit and seed wall fused Fruits that have 1 seed do not need to split open to release the seed. Achenes and grains are similar, but differ in whether the fruit and seed wall remain separate or become fused to one another.

Dry Indehiscent Fruits - Nut
Nut – 1 seeded, enclosed by hard pericarp, surrounded by “husk” Nuts are also 1-seeded, but they develop a very thick fruit wall that surrounds the seed. See Figs. 3.15, 3.16, pages 70-71

Dry, Dehiscent Fruits – Follicle
Follicle – from simple ovary, splits along 1 seam only See Figs. 3.4, p. 58 Follicles split open along exactly 1 seam at maturity to release the multiple seed. Spiraea Fruits milkweed

Dry, Dehiscent Fruits - Legume
Legume – from simple ovary, splits along 2 seams In contrast to follicles, legumes split open along two seams. Chapter 6 Fruit of Fabaceae, only: beans, peas, lentils etc.

Dry, Dehiscent Fruits – Capsule
Capsule = from compound ovary, splits along >2 seams or pores Capsules split open along more than 2 seams (or sometimes they have other means of opening up, such as the pores that develop at maturity in the poppy fruit)

Dry, Dehiscent Fruits - Schizocarp
Schizocarp = from compound ovary, splits into 1-seeded units Schizocarps split into 1-seeded units at maturity, and the fruit and seed parts typically remain together and serve as the dispersal unit. Maple Schizocarp Carrot

Fleshy Fruits from 1 Ovary - Berry
Berry – multiple seeds, embedded in fleshy pulp One type of fleshy fruit is a berry - this is defined as a fruit with multiple seeds that are embedded in the fleshy pulp. Such commonly consumed fruits as tomatoes, blueberries, grapes, and bananas are examples of berries. Some berries have special traits and may be designated by a more specific term, such as the pepo, hesperidium, and pome.

Berry – multiple seeds, embedded in fleshy pulp Seedless fruits – sterile, so no seeds develop, but still considered to be berries One type of fleshy fruit is a berry - this is defined as a fruit with multiple seeds that are embedded in the fleshy pulp. Such commonly consumed fruits as tomatoes, blueberries, grapes, and bananas are examples of berries. Some berries have special traits and may be designated by a more specific term, such as the pepo, hesperidium, and pome.

Berry – multiple seeds, embedded in fleshy pulp Special types of Berries Pepo – hard rind One type of fleshy fruit is a berry - this is defined as a fruit with multiple seeds that are embedded in the fleshy pulp. Such commonly consumed fruits as tomatoes, blueberries, grapes, and bananas are examples of berries. Some berries have special traits and may be designated by a more specific term, such as the pepo, hesperidium, and pome.

Berry – multiple seeds, embedded in fleshy pulp Special types of Berries Hesperidium – flesh = juice-filled hairs Pepo – hard rind One type of fleshy fruit is a berry - this is defined as a fruit with multiple seeds that are embedded in the fleshy pulp. Such commonly consumed fruits as tomatoes, blueberries, grapes, and bananas are examples of berries. Some berries have special traits and may be designated by a more specific term, such as the pepo, hesperidium, and pome.

Berry – multiple seeds, embedded in fleshy pulp Special types of Berries Pome – most of flesh = hypanthium Hesperidium – flesh = juice-filled hairs Pepo – hard rind One type of fleshy fruit is a berry - this is defined as a fruit with multiple seeds that are embedded in the fleshy pulp. Such commonly consumed fruits as tomatoes, blueberries, grapes, and bananas are examples of berries. Some berries have special traits and may be designated by a more specific term, such as the pepo, hesperidium, and pome.

Fleshy Fruits from 1 Ovary - Drupe
See Fig. 3.4, page 59; also Fig. 3.12, page 68 A drupe is a specialized type of fleshy fruit that has a single seed, and the inner portion of the fruit wall, the endocarp, becomes hard and bony and protects the enclosed seed. Drupes are adapted to pass through the digestive system of an animal - in fact, some drupes require the scouring by digestive acids to allow the seed to germinate.

Fleshy Fruits from > 1 Ovary
See Fig. 3.8, p. 66 Some fruits are made up of individual units - each derived from a single ovary - that become fused together into an aggregate structure - we call these aggregate fruits. Examples include the raspberry, which is an aggregate of small drupes (“drupelets”), and the strawberry, in which it is the receptacle that becomes fleshy and swollen, and the fruits are achenes which are embedded in the surface of the receptacle.

Fleshy Fruits - Comparison
Note that not all fruits that we call berries in our colloquial language are berries in the botanical sense - for example a raspberry is an aggregate of drupelets.

Fleshy Fruits from > 1 Flower
Pineapples and figs have compound fruits - the ovaries that fuse together to form the aggregate structure actually come from different flowers.

Temperate Fruit & Nut Crops
Rosaceae – Rose Family Apples, Pears, and Quinces Plums, Cherries, Peaches, Apricots, Almonds Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries Blueberries & Cranberries Grapes Olives Kiwi Fruit Walnuts & Pecans Pistachios See Tables 3.2, p. 55; Table 3.5, p A variety of crops in the temperate zone are grown for the fruits that they produce - these are discussed in Chapter 3, and we will consider some of them in lecture.

Apples, Pears, and Quinces
See Fig. 3.6, p. 64 Apples, pears, and quinces have a specialized type of berry called a pome. In a pome, the ovary becomes surrounded by floral tissue, called the hypanthium, that becomes enlarged at maturity. Typically when we eat a pome fruit, we are actually eating only the hypanthium, and we throw away the actual fruit with the seeds.

Apple Production Native to: Caucasus Mountains, Kazakhstan
Apples are native to the Caucasus Mountains, in an area formerly in the Soviet Union but now in the country of Kazakhstan. People sometimes associate wild apples with the American midwest, but the plants that grow there are either escapes from cultivation or in many cases the result of the efforts of a real historical figure who has been called Johny Appleseed. These feral apples represent an important genetic pool, although the most valuable wild populations for breeders are in the much more inaccessible areas of Asia. The production and marketing of modern favorites is a complex and intriguing story that involves the intersection of economics, advertising, and agronomics.

“Seed” apples (Johnny Appleseed) – diverse Apples are native to the Caucasus Mountains, in an area formerly in the Soviet Union but now in the country of Kazakhstan. People sometimes associate wild apples with the American midwest, but the plants that grow there are either escapes from cultivation or in many cases the result of the efforts of a real historical figure who has been called Johny Appleseed. These feral apples represent an important genetic pool, although the most valuable wild populations for breeders are in the much more inaccessible areas of Asia. The production and marketing of modern favorites is a complex and intriguing story that involves the intersection of economics, advertising, and agronomics.

“Seed” apples (Johnny Appleseed) – diverse Cultivars – grafted onto rootstocks Apples are native to the Caucasus Mountains, in an area formerly in the Soviet Union but now in the country of Kazakhstan. People sometimes associate wild apples with the American midwest, but the plants that grow there are either escapes from cultivation or in many cases the result of the efforts of a real historical figure who has been called Johny Appleseed. These feral apples represent an important genetic pool, although the most valuable wild populations for breeders are in the much more inaccessible areas of Asia. The production and marketing of modern favorites is a complex and intriguing story that involves the intersection of economics, advertising, and agronomics.

“Seed” apples (Johnny Appleseed) – diverse Cultivars – grafted onto rootstocks Modern Favorites: Washington State, Oregon – Red Delicious Being Superseded By: Granny Smith, Gala, Fuji, Braeburn Economics: production cost = $12/box; wholesale $8-12/box Apples are native to the Caucasus Mountains, in an area formerly in the Soviet Union but now in the country of Kazakhstan. People sometimes associate wild apples with the American midwest, but the plants that grow there are either escapes from cultivation or in many cases the result of the efforts of a real historical figure who has been called Johny Appleseed. These feral apples represent an important genetic pool, although the most valuable wild populations for breeders are in the much more inaccessible areas of Asia. The production and marketing of modern favorites is a complex and intriguing story that involves the intersection of economics, advertising, and agronomics.

Stone Fruits – Plums, Cherries, Peaches, Apricots
The so-called stone fruits are members of the Rosaceae in which the fruit is a drupe. Plums, cherries, peaches, and apricots are all members of the large genus Prunus - all members of this genus have similar white or pinkish flowers that have 5 sepals, 5 petals, numerous stamens, and a single ovary which develops into a 1-seeded fruit.

Stone Fruits – Plums and Peaches
Plums and peaches are widely grown in the temperate zone, primarily as fruit crops. In eastern Tennessee, the climate is marginal for commercial peach orchards - the plants are susceptible to late freezes (after the flowers have opened), and a full crop is not obtained every year.

Stone Fruits – Cherries
Cherries are a popular fruit, and are widely grown both as ornamentals for their flowers (there are some “weeping cherries” planted near the Stokely Management Center that will have attractive cascading branches full of flowers in a few weeks) as well as for their fruits.

Berries that are not really berries
Strawberry - Fragaria As we discussed in the last class, fruits of strawberries are botanically berries, but rather they consist of a large number of individually small achenes that embedded in a receptacle that becomes large and fleshy and red in color as it matures. See Fig. 3.8, p. 66

Brambles – raspberries and blackberries Fruit = aggregate of small drupes (drupelets) Another aggregate of individually small fruits is found in the blackberries and their relatives, which are classified in the genus Rubus. The flower pattern is the same as for other members of the Rosaceae - 5 sepals, 5 whitish or pinkish petals, and numerous stamens. In the case of blackberries, there are numerous individually small ovaries in the flower, and these expand to form small drupes (drupelets) that adhere together to form the fruit. In contrast to strawberries, receptacle stays relatively small and it is the fruits themselves that form the seet, fleshy, attractive part of the aggregate fruit.

Raspberry – receptacle stays behind when fruit detached Blackberry – receptacle detaches with fruit Depending on the size and nature of the receptacle as well as the growth habit and other aspects of the plant, the “brambles” are subdivided into informal groups for culinary purposes. In the raspberries, the receptacle remains on the plant when the fruit is removed, so the fruits are more tender (as well as more fragile) than other brambles. In the blackberries, the receptacle goes with the fruit. Loganberries and boysenberries are polyploids which include genomes from both raspberries and blackberries. Black raspberry Blackberry Loganberry Boysenberry

Berries that are really Berries
Blueberry See Fig. 3.9, p. 67 Cranberry The fruits of members of the genus Vaccinium are really berries - they have multiple seeds directly embedded in a fleshy pulp. The blueberries are widely grown for their sweet fruits. Cranberry species are found both in Europe and in North America - the North American species was used by the Native Americans as a component of the travel food called pemmican. Cranberries are grown in boggy areas that can be periodically flooded to protect the plants and to facilitate harvesting the crop.

Another Popular Berry Flowers Grapes - Vitis See Fig. 3.11, p. 68
Vineyard grapes Muscadine grapes The fruit of members of the genus Vitis is also botanically a berry. Although these are eaten fresh as fruits, grapes are also of considerable importance as the major fruit used to produce wine, and we will consider them more fully in a later lecture. Table grapes

A Berry with an Accent See Fig. 3.14, p. 70
Kiwi Fruit – Actinidia deliciosa (original common name = Chinese gooseberry) Another berry is produced by the plant that we call the kiwi fruit. These had been gathered and eaten for many years in areas of Asia where they are native. However, widespread commercial production came after it was introduced to New Zealand, where it was renamed to facilitate marketing it. Note: some individuals can be allergic to kiwi

Drupes Again See Fig. 3.12, p. 68 Olive – Olea europea
The olive produces a drupe for its fruit. We will consider this plant more fully when we discuss vegetable oils.

Nuts to You Walnuts Pecans See Fig. 3.15, 3.16, p. 70-71
The term nut has various definitions - in the culinary sense it is used broadly for fruits that are variously considered to be legumes (peanuts), drupes (almonds, pistachios), and true nuts by the botanist. The pecans and walnuts provide a borderline case - they are 1-seeded fruits that have some characteristics as drupes, but the mesocarp is not fleshy at maturity, so they are sometimes called drupaceous nuts or dry drupes. Pecans are native to eastern North America, and are favored among other hickory nuts because the fruit walls are relatively thin and easy to separate from the large, oily embryos. Walnut species occur in both North America and Eurasia; the commercially used walnut is a native of the near East region that has acquired the misnomer “English Walnut”. In both pecans and walnuts, the somewhat fleshy outer layers are derived from the sepals - in pecans (like other hickory nuts), these split along regular lines, but in the walnuts they grow together seamlessy. See Fig. 3.15, 3.16, p

More Nuts See Figs. 3.17, 3.18, p. 72 Chestnut - Castanea Hazelnut
True nuts are found in the genus Castanea, which gives us the chestnuts, and in the genus Corylus, which produce the hazelnuts. In both genera there are North American and Eurasian species, and in both it is the Eurasian members that are commercially important. The near extinction of our native American Chestnut, Castanea dentata, as the result of spread of the chestnut blight is a sad and cautionary tale of the impact of human activities on our native biota that we will consider in a later lecture.

Nuts that are not nuts Almond - Prunus Fig. 3.19, p. 73;
Figs. 3.20, 3.21, p. 74 Pistachio – Pistacia vera Pistachios and almonds are both examples of drupes in which we strip away and discard the skin and the fleshy mesocarp and remove the seed for eating from the hardened endocarp. Pistachios were for many years almost universally dyed red before being sold; the origin of this treatment is not clear but it is believed to have been a marketing ploy to hide visual imperfections in the shells (endocarps). The problematic nature of red dyes has led to a reversion to marketing them in their natural, tan to whitish color. Almonds are closely related and very similar to peaches, but the part that we eat in the peach we throw away in the almond and vice versa (almost - in neither do we consume the hard, inedible endocarp).

Thursday Lecture – Fruits and Nuts of Warm Regions
Reading: Textbook, Chapter 4 Tuesday we will finish our discussion of temperate fruits, and as time permits will move on to consider some tropical fruit crops.

Tuesday Lecture – Fruits and Nuts of Temperate Regions

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