geocarpy

botany

Learn about this topic in these articles:

peanuts

  • Peanut (Arachis hypogaea)
    In peanut

    …underground, a phenomenon known as geocarpy. After pollination and the withering of the flower, an unusual stalklike structure called a peg grows from the base of the flower toward the soil. The fertilized ovules are carried downward in the sturdy tip of the peg until the tip is well below…

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role in seed dispersal

  • apricots
    In fruit: Other forms of dispersal

    Geocarpy is defined as either the production of fruits underground, as in the arum lilies (Stylochiton and Biarum), in which the flowers are already subterranean, or the active burying of fruits by the mother plant, as in the peanut (Arachis hypogaea). In the American hog…

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  • magnolia fruit and seeds
    In seed: Self-dispersal

    …in beet and spinach, and by geocarpy. Geocarpy is defined as either the production of fruits underground, as in the arum lilies Stylochiton and Biarum, in which the flowers are already subterranean, or the active burying of fruits by the mother plant, as in the peanut, Arachis hypogaea. In the…

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Related Topics:
fruit

parthenocarpy, development of fruit without fertilization. The fruit resembles a normally produced fruit but is seedless. Varieties of the pineapple, banana, cucumber, grape, orange, grapefruit, persimmon, and breadfruit exemplify naturally occurring parthenocarpy. Seedless parthenocarpic fruit can be induced in nonparthenocarpic varieties and in naturally parthenocarpic varieties out of season by a type of artificial pollination with dead or altered pollen or by pollen from a different type of plant. The application of synthetic growth substances in paste form, by injection, or by spraying, also causes parthenocarpic development.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.