Climacteric and Non-climacteric Fruit List

Fruits were once classiﬁed as only either/or Climacteric/Non climacteric but with time many variations between the two types have been found. this original classiﬁcation is better seen as two extremes of the process. Ethylene/CO2 production is generally thought as a major part of ripening but the kiwifruit has no rise in production until near the end of the ripening process when they become soft. In kiwifruit, structural alterations in cell walls became apparent at advanced stages of softening and showed predominantly dissolution of the middle lamella^. This middle lamella dissolution has also been found in several other fruits including apples and pears.

While ripening is no longer perceived as always being driven by ethylene production or by a rise in respiration the usage of the terms Climacteric and Non climacteric remains a useful method of categorizing fruit ripening.
The table below has Climacteric and Non climacteric listings as well as flower information for a number of species of fruits. As more information available (reader's contributions welcomed) the list will be expanded. In very general terms a climacteric fruit can be picked from the tree at full size or maturity but before it is 'ripe' and allowed to ripen off the tree. Generally there is an increase in flavor quality, juice, sugars and other factors. Again, in general terms, non climacteric fruits tend to maintain what ever quality they had at harvest without many beneficial changes.

More technically, in climacteric fruit 'ripening' is controlled by the fruits production of Ethylene and a significant increase in CO2 production. Non climacteric fruit produce little or no Ethylene and no large increase in CO2 production. Some fruits are picked full sized and green in color and held under refrigeration with Ethylene gas added to make them suitable for sale. It seems that much of what we know about the ripening of non climacteric fruit remains poorly understood.

Some varieties of different fruit may exhibit a change in ripening when picked but still be mostly non-climacteric (some literature suggests that some grape varieties are climacteric, some citrus are considered better flavored after chilling or storage (some oranges, some grapefruit)). As information is supplied by readers the list will be updated.

lamella: a thin plate, scale, membrane, or layer, as of tissue, or cell walls.
CL = Climacteric NC = Non-Climacteric

= Image (Not Yet Implemented) Common Names Table Link

Latin Name	Common Name	Type
~~ A ~~
Actinidia deliciosa	Kiwi	CL
Adansonia digitata	Baobab	CL
Anacardium occidentale	Cashew	NC
Ananas comosus	Pineapple	NC
Annona cherimola	Cherimoya	CL
Annona hybrid	Atemoya	CL
Annona muricata	Soursop	CL
Annona squamosa	Sugarapple	CL
Artocarpus altilis	Breadfruit	CL
Artocarpus heterophyllus	Jakfruit, Jackfruit	CL
Asimina triloba	Pawpaw	CL
Averrhoa carambola	Carambola	NC
~~ B ~~
Bactris gasipaes	Pejibaye	--
Borojoa patinoi	Borojo	NC
Brosimum alicastrum	Breadnut	--
Bunchosia armeniaca	Peanutbutter Fruit	CL
~~ C ~~
Carica papaya	Papaya	CL
Casimiroa edulis	Casimiroa, White Sapote	--
Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus	Watermelon	NC
Citrus aurantiifolia	Lime, Kinnow	NC
Citrus grandis	Pummelo	NC?
Citrus limetta	Mousambi, Sweet Lemon, Sweet Lime	NC
Citrus paradisi	Grapefruit	NC?
Citrus reticulata	Mandarin	NC
Citrus sinensis	Orange	NC
Cucumis melo	Cantaloupe, Muskmelon, Rockmelon	NC
~~ D ~~
Dimocarpus longan	Longan, Dragon's Eye	NC
Diospyros digyna	Black Sapote, Chocolate Pudding Fruit	CL
Diospyros kaki	Oriental Persimmon	CL
Diospyros virginiana	Persimmon	CL?
Dovyalis caffra	Kei Apple	CL
Durio zibethinus	Durian	CL
~~ E ~~
Eriobotrya japonica	Loquat	NC?
Eugenia brasiliensis	Grumichama	NC
Eugenia uniflora	Surinam Cherry	NC
~~ F ~~
Feijoa sellowiana	Feijoa	CL
Ficus carica	Fig	CL
Flacourtia indica	Governor’s Plum	--
Fortunella sp.	Kumquat	NC?
Fragaria × ananassa, Fragaria sp.	Strawberry	NC
~~ G ~~
Garcinia cambogia	Citrin, Gambooge	CL
Garcinia mangostana	Mangosteen	CL?
Garcinia prainiana	Button Mangosteen	CL

Latin Name	Common Name	Type
~~ L ~~
Lansium domesticum*	Langsat,	CL?
Lansium parasiticum*	Duku	--
Litchi chinensis	Lychee, Litchi	NC
Lycopersicon esculentum	Tomato	CL
~~ M ~~
Macadamia integrifolia	Macadamia Nut	--
Malus domestica	Apple	CL
Mangifera indica	Mango	CL
Manilkara zapota	Sapodilla	CL
Monstera deliciosa	Monstera	CL
Musa sp.	Banana, Plantain	CL
~~ N ~~
Nephelium lappaceum	Rambutan	NC
~~ P ~~
Passiflora edulis	Purple Passion Fruit	CL
Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa	Yellow Passion Fruit	CL
Passiflora quadrangularis	Giant Granadilla	CL
Persea americana	Avocado	CL
Poraqueiba sericea	Umari Roxo	NC
Pourouma cecropiaefolia	Amazon Tree Grape	--
Pouteria caimito	Caimito	CL
Pouteria campechiana	Canistel	CL
Pouteria sapota	Mamey Sapote	CL
Pouteria sp	Ross Sapote	CL
Prunus persica	Peach	CL
Prunus armeniaca	Apricot	CL
Prunus spp., P. domestica, P. salicina	Plum	CL
Prunus spp., P. avium, P. cerasus	Cherry	CL
Psidium friedrichsthalianum	Cost Rican Guava	CL
Psidium cattleianum	Cattley Guava	CL
Psidium guajava	Guava	CL
Punica granatum	Pomegranate	NC
Pyrus spp., Pyrus communis subsp. communis	Pear	CL

* There is some discussion as to Lansium domesticum being a synonym of Lansium parasiticum. Due to the difference in the two I have left them separate. L. domesticum fruit have a short shelf life and seem quite Climacteric in nature where the fruit of L. parasiticum seem somewhat non Climacteric less so.

Latin Name	Common Name	Type
~~ R ~~
Rubus fruticosus	Blackberry, Thornless Blackberry	NC
Rubus idaeus	Red Raspberry	NC
Rubus occidentalis	Black Raspberry	NC
Rubus sp.	Raspberry	NC
~~ S ~~
Salacca edulis	Salak	--
Sandoricum koetjape	Santol	--
Syzygium malaccense	Malay Apple	NC
Syzygium samarangense	Wax Jambu	NC
~~ T ~~
Tamarindus indica	Tamarind	--
~~ V ~~
Vitis sp.	Grapes	NC
~~ Z ~~
Ziziphus mauritiana	Indian Jujube	CL
Ziziphus spina-christi	Christ's Thorn Jujube	CL?

CL = Climacteric NC = Non-Climacteric

Help us improve this table. Please let us know which plants are Climacteric and which are not - send us the Latin name and common name and details if you can. We would also like a photo for each fruit - full credit will be given.

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