pericarp
the walls of a ripened ovary or fruit, sometimes consisting of three layers, the epicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp.
a membranous envelope around the cystocarp of red algae.
Origin of pericarp
1Other words from pericarp
- per·i·car·pi·al, per·i·car·pic, adjective
- per·i·car·poi·dal, adjective
Words Nearby pericarp
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use pericarp in a sentence
In the medlar the core (or true pericarp) is of a stony hardness, while the outer succulent covering is open at the summit.
Dehiscent—the pericarp splits to allow the escape of the seeds—generally many-seeded.
pericarp generally differentiated into distinct layers, one of which is succulent or fibrous.
In an orthotropal seed attached to the base of the pericarp it is superior, as also in a suspended anatropal seed.
pericarp woody, dehiscent at the tip by 2–4 valves; contains 1–4 seeds, slightly orbiculate, coriaceous.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines | T. H. Pardo de Tavera
British Dictionary definitions for pericarp
/ (ˈpɛrɪˌkɑːp) /
the part of a fruit enclosing the seeds that develops from the wall of the ovary
a layer of tissue around the reproductive bodies of some algae and fungi
Origin of pericarp
1Derived forms of pericarp
- pericarpial or pericarpic, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for pericarp
[ pĕr′ĭ-kärp′ ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse