Epicarp (from , "on" or "upon" + -carp, "fruit") is a botanical term for the outermost layer of the pericarp (or fruit). The epicarp forms the tough outer skin of the fruit, if there is one. The epicarp is sometimes called the exocarp, or, especially in citrus, the flavedo.
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The epicarp has a smooth surface marked with lip-like structures, with a suture line which extends for the full length of the fruit.
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In fleshy fruits, the pericarp is typically made up of three distinct layers: the epicarp (also known as exocarp), which is the outermost layer; the mesocarp, which is the middle layer; and the endocarp, which is the inner layer surrounding the ovary or the seeds. In a citrus fruit, the epicarp and mesocarp make up the peel. In dry fruits, the layers of the pericarp are not clearly distinguishable.
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The epicarp is smooth, the mesocarp is fleshy and fibrous and the endocarp is thick and bony. The seed is basally attached and beaked with a shallowly ruminate endosperm and a subbasal embryo.
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These fruits show iridescent colors in the blue-green region of the visible spectrum which gives the fruit a strong metallic and shiny visual appearance. The structural colours come from the organisation of cellulose chains in the fruit's epicarp, a part of the fruit skin. Each cell of the epicarp is made of a multilayered envelope that behaves like a Bragg reflector. However, the light which is reflected from the skin of these fruits is not polarised unlike the one arising from man-made replicates obtained from the self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals into helicoids, which only reflect left-handed circularly polarised light.
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It has a 3-valved fruit 5–12 mm long which sheds its epicarp early, the endocarp is a membrane which persists, the endocarp valves are surrounded by and are alternate with bristly, white and hardened remains of mesocarp and contains numerous pyramidal seeds.
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Ovary ovoid-oblong, densely adpressedly villose and up to 2mm long. Flowers February–May. Fruit septicidally 4-5 valved, dark brown with valves pubescent on the back and glabrous at the sides. Epicarp mature fruits splits off from endocarp, which splits ~1/4 of its length.
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Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press. / The inflorescence is interfoliar, once or twice branched and hairy. The male and female flowers are borne in triads at the base of the rachilla and are solitary or in pairs towards the end. The fruit is slightly ovoid, epicarp smooth, mesocarp fleshy and fibrous, with one similarly shaped seed.
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R. ribes, unlike many other species of rhubarb, has a fleshy, succulent epicarp around its seeds. The generic name Rheum is derived from the Greek rheon, mentioned by Dioscorides as a name for medicinal rhubarb; the word rheon is itself thought to be derived from the (old) Persian rewend, which possibly referred to this species.
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The outer, often edible layer, is the pericarp, formed from the ovary and surrounding the seeds, although in some species other tissues contribute to or form the edible portion. The pericarp may be described in three layers from outer to inner, the epicarp, mesocarp and endocarp. Fruit that bears a prominent pointed terminal projection is said to be beaked.
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There are three to six small, triangular staminodes and the gynoecium is ovoid and covered in brown scales. The three stigmas are apical and reflexed; the ovule is pendulous. The red epicarp of the small round fruit breaks away in age exposing the brown, warty mesocarp. The single seed is spherical with homogeneous endosperm and a subbasal embryo.
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This species is deciduous, with a period of leaf fall between November and December, and a period of regrowth of leaves between January and February. Flowering begins in late February. The species is monoecious, male flowers are hanging catkins and female ones are erect, both are small and greenish. The fruits are drupes with yellow epicarp and abundant pubescence.
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The fruit is a drupe with edible pulp surrounding the single seed, 4–6 cm long and 3–5 cm broad. The rind (epicarp) of the fruit can be red, yellow, or orange when the fruit is ripe, depending on the variety of the palm.Morton, J. 1987. Pejibaye. In: Morton, J. F. Fruits of Warm Climates.
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The fruit of the Cocoseae is a modified drupe, with a sclerenchymatous epicarp and a highly developed mesocarp, formed mainly by parenchyma . The endocarp is generally sclerenchymatous and protects the seeds from predation and drying. The most obvious synapomorphy of the species of this tribe is the presence, in the endocarp, of three or more "eyes" or pores of germination.
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Juglone occurs naturally in the leaves, roots, husks, fruit (the epicarp), and bark of plants in the Juglandaceae family, particularly the black walnut (Juglans nigra), and is toxic or growth-stunting to many types of plants.Juglone toxicity It is sometimes used as an herbicide, as a dye for cloth and inks, and as a coloring agent for foods and cosmetics.
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Three incomplete locules are present, each bearing one antropous, basally attached ovule. The fruit has one, rarely two seeds, covered in persistent perianth whorls, and stigmatic apical remains. The epicarp is matted in irregular vertical rows of reflexed scales, with a thin mesocarp and an undifferentiated endocarp. The seed is basally attached, spherical, usually depressed, with a thick sarcoesta, a homogeneous endosperm and a basal embryo.
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Species that are now rare may have been favoured in the past, such as Olax psittacorum, known as bois perroquets (parakeet trees), perhaps because the birds were fond of it. Parakeets must have had an impact on seed production of favoured plants in the past; some fruits have a very hard epicarp (the tough outer skin) resistant to parrots, which may have evolved for protection. Some species have a hard epicarp surrounded by a fleshy pericarp which is eaten by echo parakeets, after which they reject the former, which probably contributes to seed dispersal. In 1987, it was reported that the fruits of the very common, introduced, Psidium cattleianum (commonly known as strawberry guava) were not taken by the echo parakeet, but in 1998, it was reported that the birds were increasingly utilising this and other exotic plants, including Averrhoa carambola (star fruit), Ligustrum robustum (privet), and Solanum auriculatum (wild apple).
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The mesocarp (from Greek: meso-, "middle" + -carp, "fruit") is the fleshy middle layer of the pericarp of a fruit; it is found between the epicarp and the endocarp. It is usually the part of the fruit that is eaten. For example, the mesocarp makes up most of the edible part of a peach, and a considerable part of a tomato. "Mesocarp" may also refer to any fruit that is fleshy throughout.
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Pterodon is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. Pterodon can be distinguished from other members of the Dipterygeae as follows: > the leaf rachis is exalate, the fruit is a cryptosamara with oil glands in > the epicarp, the seed testa is smooth and the raphe is apparent, with the > hilum in a lateral position covered by an aril and a smooth embryo.
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The fruit of Aiphanes species is usually a red, spherical, single-seeded drupe. A thin skin (or epicarp), which can be either smooth or spiny, covers the fleshy mesocarp, which is typically orange and sweet. The mesocarp of A. horrida has one of the highest reported carotene contents of any plant product and is also rich in protein. The endocarp, which encases the seed, is brown or black and very hard at maturity.
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When ripe, the fruit which has formed on the female tree, breaks apart and the woody epicarp covered in spines disintegrates, allowing the nuts to fall to the ground. Their orange fleshy mesocarp covering is eaten by rodents and some nuts are buried in caches. Nuts are collected from the ground, and taken for processing in sacks or baskets. The principal use of the tagua palm is of the vegetable ivory of its seeds.
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The pistillate flowers are smaller, ovoid, and occasionally hairy; both sepals and petals are imbricate, the latter bearing scales. There are three united staminodes forming a small cup, the gynoecium is ovoid and uniovulate; the pendulous stigma has three lobes. The fruit is egg-shaped with a wrinkly exterior, divided into lobed segments when dry, and mature at orange or red. The epicarp is fibrous, the mesocarp fleshy, covering a five-lobed seed, resembling the dry fruit.
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Thembili kiosk by a main road in Sri Lanka Red king coconut, a rare variety/form that has pink-color under epicarp. King coconut (Cocos nucifera) is a variety of coconut, native to Sri Lanka where it is known as Thambili (Sinhalaතැඹිලි). Sweeter than regular coconuts, there are several sub varieties of the king coconut-the most common being the "red dwarf" (kaha thambili, commonly referred to as gon thambili). The other variety is "Ran Thambili", a smaller variety containing about forty nuts in a bunch.
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Females lay their eggs in either developing and healthy fruits or in mature and rotten fruit (like the A. suspensa). The vast majority of species use their ovipositor to deposit the eggs in the edible part of the fruit (either the epicarp or mesocarp), and some species such as A. hamata and A. intermedia lay the eggs in the seed. Eggs can be laid in one or a group of eggs per oviposition, and it could vary among species. After the egg hatches inside the fruit, larvae complete three larval instars.
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Illustration of nest by Joseph Wolf Like other flowerpeckers they feed mainly on berries, nectar but sometimes take insects. Many of the subspecies are found in dense lowland forests with the exception of the nominate race which is found mainly in cultivated areas or open forest. Unlike the pale-billed flowerpecker, it does not swallow the berries of Loranthus (some species now in genus Dendrophthoe) and instead wipes the seeds on a branch and feeds on the epicarp. This makes it disperse the parasitic mistletoe locally unlike the other species.
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Some chestnuts have two cotyledons usually separated with deep grooves penetrating nearly all the way through the fruit; this makes them too fragile for the necessary manipulations during the cooking process. There also are other grooves on the surface, which means more embedded pellicle that must be painstakingly removed. "Marron"-quality nuts do not have the separation into two cotyledons; it appears in one piece and it shows few very shallow grooves. In Italy, the term marron denotes a specific high-quality cultivar of Castanea sativa bearing oblong fruits with a shiny, reddish epicarp and often exhibiting a small rectangular hilar scar.
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The fruit are consumed by birds and various mammals, and are an important part of the diet of primates and fruitbats. Records of human consumption is lacking, but the sweet mesocarp under the tough epicarp might likely also be consumed by the local population, as in other African Diospyros species. Besides the varied use of its hard and moderately heavy wood, which is lacking the dark colour and high durability of other Diospyros species, D. abyssinica is said to have medical properties.Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA): Diospyros abyssinica (Hiern) F.White Few studies of the traditional use of D. abyssinica have however been done.
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For instance, modern Baul compositions discuss esoteric matters by using the terminology of modern, urban and technological lexicons, and it is not unusual to hear Baul refrains containing mobile phones, radio channels, football matches and television. Bauls use a number of musical instruments: the most common is the ektara, a one-stringed "plucked drum" drone instrument, carved from the epicarp of a gourd, and made of bamboo and goatskin. Others include the dotara, a long-necked fretless lute (while the name literally means "two stringed" it usually has four metal strings) made of the wood of a jackfruit or neem tree; besides khamak, one- headed drum with a string attached to it which is plucked. The only difference from ektara is that no bamboo is used to stretch the string, which is held by one hand, while being plucked by another.
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