In botany and horticulture, parthenocarpic literally means virgin fruit; the fruit develops without fertilization of ovules, therefore it is seedless. Parthenocarpy occasionally occurs as a mutation in nature, but it is a defect, as the plant can no longer reproduce.
Humans, however, often see seedlessness as a desirable quality and have selected and artificially propagated parthenocarpic varieties of many plants, including citrus, banana, cucumber, and eggplant.
In some areas lack of pollinators has induced human cultivation of parthenocarpic varieties. Plants moved from one area of the world to another may not always be accompanied by their pollinating partner.
Parthenocarpicfruits are devoid of embryo and endosperm.
The persistence of parthenocarpicfruits in parsnips appears to be related to their defensive value against their most destructive enemy the parsnip webworm.
Plants with webworms had proportionately fewer parthenocarpicfruits than plants without webworms, a result that is consistent with the behavior that webworms prefer parthenocarpicfruit.
In the case of the parthenocarpicfruit, there are two very small peaks (at 38 and 32 grams) before the maximum, and then a steep drop to zero.
Parthenocarpicfruit of less than two grams weight would most likely be too weak to survive—the end result being that some of the peaks have simply not developed at all.
A crop of parthenocarpicfruit could be considered as acting as a low level crop as regards the nutritional balance of the tree.
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