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In botany, apome is a type of fruit produced byflowering plants in the subtribeMalinae of the familyRosaceae. Pome fruits consist of a central 'core' containing multiple small seeds, which is enveloped by a tough membrane and surrounded by an edible layer of flesh. Pome fruit trees are deciduous, and undergo a dormant winter period that requires cold temperatures to break dormancy in spring. Well-known pomes include theapple,pear, andquince.[1]
The wordpome entered English in the late 14th century, and referred to an apple or an apple-shaped object. It derived from theOld French word for apple:pome (12th century; modern French ispomme), which in turn derived from theLate Latin orVulgar Latin wordpoma 'apple', originally the plural of Latinpomum 'fruit', later 'apple'.[2]
A pome is anaccessory fruit composed of one or morecarpels surrounded by accessory tissue. The accessory tissue is interpreted by some specialists as an extension of thereceptacle and is then referred to as 'fruit cortex',[3] and by others as a fusedhypanthium (floral cup).[3] It is the most edible part of this fruit.
The carpels of a pome are fused within the core.[4] Although theepicarp,mesocarp, andendocarp of some other fruit types look very much like the skin, flesh, and core respectively of a pome, they are parts of the carpel (see above diagram). Theepicarp andmesocarp of a pome may be fleshy and difficult to distinguish from one another and from the hypanthial tissue. The endocarp forms a leathery or stony case around theseed, and corresponds to what is commonly called the core.[citation needed]
A pome-type fruit with a stony rather than a leatheryendocarp may be called apolypyrenousdrupe.[5]
The shriveled remains of thesepals,style andstamens can sometimes be seen at the end of a pome opposite the stem, and theovary is therefore often described asinferior in these flowers.[citation needed]
The best-known example of a pome is theapple. Other examples of plants that produce fruit classified as a pome areCotoneaster,Crataegus (hawthorn and mayhaw),medlar,pear,Pyracantha,quince,rowan,loquat,toyon, andwhitebeam.[citation needed]
Some pomes may have a mealy texture (e.g., some apples); others (e.g.,Amelanchier,Aronia) are berry-like with juicy flesh and a core that is not very noticeable.[citation needed]
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