A compound fruit is one that develops from several ovaries in either a single flower or multiple flowers. Conversely, a simple fruit develops from one ovary.

• Compound fruits may be aggregate fruits, in which one flower contains several ovaries which each develop into a small fruit. These small fruits are joined tightly together to make a larger fruit. An example of this is a raspberry. Each fleshy lobe in a raspberry is actually an individual fruit, but they are joined at their bases.

• Compound fruits may also be multiple fruits, in which several flowers, each with an ovary, develop into small fruits which are clustered or fused together into a larger fruit. An example of this is a pineapple. Each section of a pineapple was an individual fruit from an individual flower, but they have fused to form the pineapple.

Grapes grow in clusters, but they are not compound fruits. Each grape grew from one ovary in one flower, and each grape remains an independent fruit.

plant morphology | Fruit

Fruktförband

A List of Compound Fruits

Pomegranates

Pineapples