Variation in Fleshy Fruit Composition in the Mediterranean Region: The Importance of Ripening Season, Life-Form, Fruit Type and Geographical Distribution

Abstract

Fruit pulp of 65 taxa encompassing the whole set of native plant species in a Mediterranean region of southern France were analyzed with respect to water, carbohydrate, protein, lipid and carotenoid contents. Variations in pulp composition were studied in relation to ripeness timing, distribution, life-form and fruit type. The following seasonal trends were observed: from summer to winter, water and carbohydrate contents decrease whereas lipid content increases; summer fruits are richer in proteins than autumn and winter ripening ones. Plants with a strict mediterranean distribution have less watery fruits than those with a widespread range or the rarer ones in the mediterranean area. Herbaceous plants tend to have more watery fruits with higher carbohydrate and protein contents than tall ligneous ones. Fruit composition appears to be independent from evergreenness and deciduousness. We emphasize the important role of water content in main pulp compound partitioning. We suggest that climate, water balance and life-form have more shaped the patterns in temperate fruit nutrients than avian dispersers could have done.