1. A fruit-like structure that develops from parts of the flower other than the ovary, such as the receptacle or floral tube.
Usage: botany; also called accessory fruit or false fruit

Examples

• An apple is a pseudocarp because much of its flesh comes from the receptacle rather than the ovary alone.
• Strawberries are pseudocarps, with the fleshy part derived from the receptacle and the true fruits being the tiny seeds on the surface.
• In botany class, students learn to distinguish between true fruits and pseudocarps like pears and figs.
• The cashew apple is a pseudocarp formed from the accessory tissues surrounding the true fruit.
• Botanists classify many common fruits as pseudocarps because their structure involves non-ovarian tissue.