15+ Compound Fruit Examples :Detailed Explanations And Images

Compound fruit refers to fruits developing from multiple flowers having multiple ovaries, merged together during development. Let’s briefly discuss some compound fruit examples.

Let’s have a closer look at the compound fruit examples-

Platanus

Platanus is a deciduous, monoecious plant meaning both male and female flowers grow separately in the same plant. The male have 3-8 stamens and the female has a supirior ovary with 3-7 carpals. After pollination the female plant becomes achenes, several flowers with several ovaries join to form a compound fruit. The fruit contains several achenes, each of which are single seeds.

Mulberry

The mulberry fruit is one of the most common compound fruit examples. Morus alba is known as the common mulberry for silkworm mulberry. It is a large deciduous tree. The flowers of mulberry are catkins, which means cylindrical flower clusters without petals. The male flower is 2–3.5 cm long and the female flower is 1–2 cm long usually. After pollination the whole inflorescence develops into a compound fruit.

Breadfruit

Breadfruit or Artocarpus altilis is a large monoecious tree belonging to the family Moraceae. Both of the male and female flowers are present in the same tree. The male flowers emerge first and grow into capitula, which are capable of pollination soon after three days only. 1,500 to 2,000 flowers together from a false fruit from the swollen perianth. Thus breadfruit is also one of the most common compound fruit examples. The fruit consists of several achenes.

Breadfruit plant from Wikimedia Commons

Ficus

Ficus or generally Known as fig tree belongs to the family Moraceae, having more than 850 species under the genus. The inflorescence of ficus enclosed in an urn -like structure known as synconium. There are several tiny flowers present in this and at the time of development all of the flowers with several ovaries within each develop into a fruit. That’s why the ficus fruit is also one of the most common compound fruit examples.

Morusnigra

Morus nigra is known as the black mulberry, belonging to the family Moraceae. The fruit of morus nigra is one of the most common compound fruit examples. The fruit of this plant is generally a cluster of several little drupes, that is why it can be called a compound fruit.

Morus nigra or BlackBerry from Wikimedia Commons

Ananas

Ananas or pineapple is a herbaceous perennial plant, belonging to the family Bromeliaceae. The plant consists of spike-like inflorescence having 100 spirally arranged trimerous flowers. The ovaries of the flowers develop into barriers and each of the Barry merge together and form a large compact compound or better to say multiple fruit. It is also one of the most common compound fruit examples.

Osage Orange

Osage orange or Maclura pomifera is a tree typically belonging to the family Moraceae. It is a dioecious plant meaning the male flower and female flower are produced in different plants. The staminate flowers are small, green coloured having four lobed calyx and four stamens are inserted opposite it. The female flower consists of superior ovary, ovate, compressed, green coloured generally. The fruit is syncarp of numerous small drupes thus it is classified as compound fruit.

Osage orange from Wikimedia Commons

Morinda citrifolia

Morinda is a tree closely related to the coffee family belongs to the family Rubiaceae. The whole inflorescence of the plant develops into a single multiple fruit, which has a pungent odor when ripening. That is why the fruit is also known as cheese fruit or even vomit fruit, containing several seeds in it. The fruit of Morinda citrifolia is also one of the most common compound fruit examples.

Raspberry

Raspberry is one of the most common compound fruit examples. It belongs to the genus Rubus under the rose family Rosaceae. At the time of development different carpals of a single flower develops into a fruit, made up of around 100 drupelets. Each of the fruit contains juicy pulp and a single central seed in them.

Raspberry from Wikimedia Commons

Blackberry

Blackberry is also one of the most common compound fruit examples. It belongs to the genus Rubus under the family Rosaceae. It is a perennial plant that produces white or pink coloured flowers at the time of late spring to early summer. The flower is about 2–3 cm in length, and consists of five petals each. After pollination from the male gamets fruit develops. The fruit of blackberry is composed of small droplets hence it is a compound type of fruit.

Dewberry

Just like blackberry, dewberry is also one of the most common compound fruit examples. It belongs to the genus Rubus under the family Rosaceae. At the flowering season (March and April) the plant bears white flowers which all together develop small green berries. After ripen the berry turns from red to purple in colour. The fruit consists of several droplets hence the fruit is compound.

Dewberry from Wikimedia Commons

Magnolia

Magnolia is a flowering plant belongs to the family Magnoliaceae. The fruit of Magnolia is also one of the most common compound fruit examples. In the spring season the plant bear bowl shaped or star shaped white, pink, purple, green or yellow in colour. The flowers have both the male and female organs and produces fruits in the time of autumn. The fruit is a compound fruit, cone shaped and dehisces along the dorsal sutures of carpels.

Liriodendron tulipifera

Liriodendron tulipifera or tulip tree belongs to the family Magnoliaceae. In the time of may the plant produces solitary, terminal, greenish yellow, borne on stout flowers typically peduncles. The flower develops into a Narrow light brown cone like compound fruit. It forms many samaras which are dispersed by wind.

Jackfruit

Jackfruit is an Artocarpus heterophyllus, an evergreen tree belonging to the family. It is a monoecious plant that means both the male and female flowers are present in the same tree. On the branches of the tree pedunculated cylindrical inflorescence develops. The male and female flowers are greenish and hairy. After pollination multiple ovaries of multiple flowers fused and form a single compound fruit.

Jackfruit plant from Wikimedia Commons

Artabotrys hexapetalus

Manoranjitham or Artabotrys hexapetalus is a plant belonging to the family Annonaceae. It is also called ylang-ylang vine or tail grape. The plant bears colourful flowers which are specially Known for their exotic fragrance. Its fruit of Manoranjitham is a compound fruit, consisting of several drupelets in it.

So these are some most common compound fruit examples. As we say that when multiple flowers having multiple ovaries merged to form a single fruit then it is called compound fruit. There is another case like if a fruit develops from several ovaries of a single flower then that fruit is also sometimes referred to as compound fruit.

As a whole we can say that there are several different kinds of compound fruit found worldwide. Here we discuss some most common compound fruit examples and also about their characters. Hope this article about compound fruit will be helpful to you.

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Piyali Das

Hello, I am Piyali Das, pursuing my Post Graduation in Zoology from Calcutta University. I am very passionate on Academic Article writing. My aim is to explain complex things in simple way through my writings for the readers.