Pericarp

• Title

  Pericarp

• Definition

  The wall of the fruit, which is usually made up of three layers, the exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp which are the outer, middle, and and inner layers of the fruit, respecitively.

• Notes

  In the Lecythidaceae, the pericarps of the indehiscent-fruited species of Grias and Gustavia become somewhat soft at maturity which species of most other genera are hard and woody. The thinnest pericarps are found in species of Couratari and the thickest are found in Lecythis zabucajo and its relatives.

• *For more educational content, please visit The Hand Lens and explore our herbarium collections and the stories they tell.