# Drupe
A drupe is a fleshy fruit, also called a stone fruit, in which the outer part of the fruit wall is fleshy and the inner part is a hard, stony layer enclosing usually a single seed. The word comes from the ancient Greek term for olive[1](https://app.ckbk.com/reference/food77337c04s001e105). Familiar drupes include the peach, cherry, plum, apricot, mango, coconut, olive, and almond[2](https://phe.rockefeller.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MVGarden_booklet_July2022.pdf) • [3](https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/app/uploads/sites/490/2021/08/15-Fruits.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Defining structure | Pericarp in three zones: outer epicarp (exocarp, the skin), middle succulent or fibrous mesocarp, and inner lignified endocarp[4](https://www.coursearchive.unsw.edu.au/documents/science/BIOS2051.pdf) |
| The stone | The hardened endocarp together with the contained seed(s) forms the pyrene, commonly called the pit[4](https://www.coursearchive.unsw.edu.au/documents/science/BIOS2051.pdf) • [2](https://phe.rockefeller.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MVGarden_booklet_July2022.pdf) |
| Typical origin | Most commonly a simple fruit from a single superior carpel, as in *Prunus* (peaches, cherries); multicarpellary origins occur, and in coconut (*Cocos*) the fruit is pseudomonomerous through abortion[4](https://www.coursearchive.unsw.edu.au/documents/science/BIOS2051.pdf) |
| Seed number | Usually one seed, occasionally two[5](https://open.lib.umn.edu/horticulture/chapter/8-1-fruit-morphology/) |
| Common examples | Peach, plum, cherry, apricot, almond, mango, coconut, avocado, olive, date, pistachio[2](https://phe.rockefeller.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MVGarden_booklet_July2022.pdf) • [3](https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/app/uploads/sites/490/2021/08/15-Fruits.pdf) |
| Cultivar distinction | Freestone cultivars have a pit that separates easily from the flesh; cling (clingstone) cultivars have flesh that attaches strongly to the stone[2](https://phe.rockefeller.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MVGarden_booklet_July2022.pdf) |
| Function of the stone | The hardened endocarp protects the seed, though it complicates fruit processing[6](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42718993/) |
## Structure
The fruit wall of a drupe, the pericarp, is differentiated into three zones[4](https://www.coursearchive.unsw.edu.au/documents/science/BIOS2051.pdf). The **exocarp** is the thin outer skin. The **mesocarp** is the middle layer, which is succulent or fibrous and is the part usually eaten. The **endocarp** is the inner layer, which becomes lignified, that is, hardened with woody material, forming the stone or pit[4](https://www.coursearchive.unsw.edu.au/documents/science/BIOS2051.pdf) • [5](https://open.lib.umn.edu/horticulture/chapter/8-1-fruit-morphology/). The endocarp and the seed it encloses are together called the pyrene[4](https://www.coursearchive.unsw.edu.au/documents/science/BIOS2051.pdf). In the coconut, the hard shell visible in stores is the endocarp, while the fibrous mesocarp and leathery exocarp have been removed before sale[5](https://open.lib.umn.edu/horticulture/chapter/8-1-fruit-morphology/).
Most drupes form from a single superior carpel of a single flower, which makes them simple fruits. Multicarpellary origins also occur, for example in *Lantana*, and in *Cocos* (coconut) the fruit is pseudomonomerous, meaning several carpels are present but all but one abort[4](https://www.coursearchive.unsw.edu.au/documents/science/BIOS2051.pdf).
## Drupe or not: distinctions from other fruits
The stony endocarp separates drupes from berries, in which the pericarp is fleshy throughout and lacks a woody endocarp[4](https://www.coursearchive.unsw.edu.au/documents/science/BIOS2051.pdf). A tomato, grape, or banana is a berry; a peach is not. Many foods called berries in everyday English are not botanical berries: a raspberry or blackberry is an aggregate fruit made of many tiny drupes, each segment, or drupelet, being a separate fertilized ovary[3](https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/app/uploads/sites/490/2021/08/15-Fruits.pdf). A pome, such as an apple or pear, has its seeds in a cartilaginous core and its flesh derived largely from the receptacle and hypanthium rather than the ovary wall[7](https://blogs.ubc.ca/biol343/fruit-types/).
Several familiar foods are drupes despite their names. Almonds are the stones of a drupe whose flesh is thin and inedible; coffee beans are the seeds of a drupe; and a cashew is a drupe, not a nut[8](https://ucanr.edu/node/112559/printable/print) • [5](https://open.lib.umn.edu/horticulture/chapter/8-1-fruit-morphology/). In the almond and coconut, the seed rather than the fleshy outer part is the edible portion[8](https://ucanr.edu/node/112559/printable/print).
## Occurrence and evolution
The classic stone fruits, cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, and nectarines, all belong to the genus *Prunus* in the rose family (Rosaceae), but many unrelated plants also bear drupes, including mango, olive, coconut, and date; this repeated appearance of the same fruit form in distant lineages is an example of convergent evolution[9](https://botit.botany.wisc.edu/botany_130/diversity/plants/Vascular_Plants/Magnoliophyta/Fruits/Fruits.html). Within Rosaceae itself, phylogenetic reconstruction supports independent origins of fleshy fruits from dry-fruit ancestors, with drupes such as the peach and pomes such as the apple evolving from a follicetum-type ancestor[10](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5400374/).
## Stone development
The hardened endocarp is a defining feature of drupes and is essential for seed protection, but it poses significant challenges for fruit processing[6](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42718993/). Stone formation is coordinated with seed and fruit growth through hormonal and genetic signaling networks. Once fertilization has occurred, an evolutionarily conserved series of transcriptional events begins: signals coming from the embryo switch on MADS-box genes and additional regulators that specify the endocarp's fate, and this pathway ends with the endocarp cells undergoing lignification and programmed cell death[6](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42718993/). Anatomical studies of fleshy monocot fruits distinguish typical drupes, in which the endocarp is differentiated into stony pyrenes while the mesocarp and exocarp remain parenchymatous, from specialized drupes with a different layering[11](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26507114/).
## References
1. [Drupe, in Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food](https://app.ckbk.com/reference/food77337c04s001e105)
2. [Types of Fleshy Fruits, Rockefeller University MV Garden booklet](https://phe.rockefeller.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MVGarden_booklet_July2022.pdf)
3. [Figure 1. Botanical fruits, University of Wisconsin course material](https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/app/uploads/sites/490/2021/08/15-Fruits.pdf)
4. [Fruit Types, BIOS2051, UNSW Faculty of Science](https://www.coursearchive.unsw.edu.au/documents/science/BIOS2051.pdf)
5. [8.1 Fruit Morphology, The Science of Plants, University of Minnesota](https://open.lib.umn.edu/horticulture/chapter/8-1-fruit-morphology/)
6. [Integrative genetic and hormonal coordination of endocarp/stone development in drupe fruit, PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42718993/)
7. [Fruit Types, Biology 343, University of British Columbia](https://blogs.ubc.ca/biol343/fruit-types/)
8. [Horticultural Terms, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://ucanr.edu/node/112559/printable/print)
9. [Fruits, Botany 130, University of Wisconsin](https://botit.botany.wisc.edu/botany_130/diversity/plants/Vascular_Plants/Magnoliophyta/Fruits/Fruits.html)
10. [Evolution of Rosaceae Fruit Types Based on Nuclear Phylogeny, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5400374/)
11. [Anatomy of fleshy fruits in the monocots, PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26507114/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Seed plants › Other flowering plants › Rosids › Fabaceae: legumes and the pea family › Titles A to L › Titles Di to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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