pericarp

[ per-i-kahrp ]

/ ˈpɛr ɪˌkɑrp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pericarp ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Botany.

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.

Nearby words

pericardiostomy, pericardiotomy, pericarditis, pericarditis obliterans, pericardium, pericarp, pericementitis, pericementum, pericenter, pericentre, perichaetial

Origin of pericarp

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

Related forms

per·i·car·pi·al, per·i·car·pic, adjectiveper·i·car·poi·dal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pericarp

When ripe, the pericarp is very mealy and agreeable to eat, and would be wholesome, if it were not so extraordinarily astringent.
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia|Ludwig Leichhardt
The parts of the pericarp of the nut are united so as to appear one.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3|Various
But practically it may include other parts organically connected with the pericarp.
The Elements of Botany|Asa Gray
The outer portion, the pericarp, is almost entirely yellow oil encased in a thick skin.
An African Adventure|Isaac F. Marcosson

As the pericarp advances to maturity, it either becomes dry or succulent.
American Pomology|J. A. Warder

British Dictionary definitions for pericarp

pericarp

/ (ˈpɛrɪˌkɑːp) /

noun

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

Derived Forms

pericarpial or pericarpic, adjective

Word Origin for pericarp

C18: via French from New Latin pericarpium

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

Science definitions for pericarp

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.