pericarp

American  

[per-i-kahrp] / ˈpɛr ɪˌkɑrp /

noun

Botany.

1. the walls of a ripened ovary or fruit, sometimes consisting of three layers, the epicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp.

2. a membranous envelope around the cystocarp of red algae.

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pericarp British  

/ ˈpɛrɪˌkɑːp /

noun

1. the part of a fruit enclosing the seeds that develops from the wall of the ovary

2. a layer of tissue around the reproductive bodies of some algae and fungi

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pericarp Scientific  

/ pĕr′ĭ-kärp′ /

1. The tissue that arises from the ripened ovary wall of a fruit; the fruit wall. In fleshy fruits, the pericarp can often be divided into the exocarp, the mesocarp, and the endocarp. For example, in a peach, the skin is the exocarp, the yellow flesh is the mesocarp, while the stone or pit surrounding the seed represents the endocarp.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pericarpial
  adjective
• pericarpoidal
  adjective
• pericarpic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pericarp

1750–60; < New Latin pericarpium < Greek perikárpion pod. See peri-, -carp

Example Sentences

Pericarp, the ripened ovary; the walls of the fruit, 117.

From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa

Pericarp oval, flattened, adherent to the vertical seed.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

Fifth, the Pericarp or Fruit-vessel; as No. xv.

From The Botanic Garden. Part II. Containing the Loves of the Plants. a Poem. With Philosophical Notes. by Darwin, Erasmus

Pericarp round with a point, invested with the calyx, of three cells.

From Lachesis Lapponica A Tour in Lapland, Volume 1 by Linn?, Carl von

Pericarp woody, dehiscent at the tip by 2–4 valves; contains 1–4 seeds, slightly orbiculate, coriaceous.

From The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by Thomas, Jerome Beers