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

• pericarpial
  adjective
• pericarpic
  adjective
• pericarpoidal
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of pericarp

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pericarp

For instance, strawberries are derived from the receptacle and apples from the pericarp, or hypanthium.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

Another three well-characterized domestication genes, qSH1 for seed shattering, Waxy for grain quality and Rc for pericarp colour, which showed strong selection signals in the panel, were not fully shared in the population.

From Nature ● Oct. 24, 2012

Fruit nearly globose; ribs inconspicuous; pericarp thick and corky.

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 Asa Gray

Having some portion of the floral envelopes attached to the pericarp to form the fruit, as in the checkerberry, the mulberry, and the pineapple.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster

As the pericarp advances to maturity, it either becomes dry or succulent.

From American Pomology Apples by J. A. Warder

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