Desk Reference Fruit A fruit is the structure that encloses one or more seeds and to some extent assists in the dissemination of the seeds. In the more advanced fruits discussed below, a carpel surrounds the seed, which is therefore no longer naked. This type of fruit is found in the angiosperms , or flowering plants. The fruit is a very complex structure composed of a number of different parts.
Simple pistils have a single carpel.
The endocarp can be hard and bony as in peaches or soft as in grapes. The epicarp can be tough and leathery as in citrus or soft as in cherries. The part of a fruit that becomes dispersed in schizocarpic fruits. The fruitlet contains one or more seeds surrounded by part of the ovary wall. A fruit that does not split open.