Climacteric and Non-climacteric Fruit List

Fruits By Common Names

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.

CL = Climacteric NC = Non-Climacteric Latin Names Table Link

Common		Type
--A--
Amazon Tree Grape	Pourouma cecropiaefolia	--
Apple	Malus domestica	CL
Apricot	Prunus sp.	CL
Atemoya	Annona hybrid	CL
Avocado	Persea americana Persea sp.	CL
--B--
Banana	Musa sp.	CL
Baobab	Adansonia digitata	CL
Blackberry	Rubus fruticosus	NC
Black Raspberry	Rubus occidentalis	NC
Black Sapote	Diospyros digyna	CL
Borojo	Borojoa patinoi	NC
Breadfruit	Artocarpus altilis	CL
Breadnut	Brosimum alicastrum	--
--C--
Caimito	Pouteria caimito	CL
Canistel	Pouteria campechiana	CL
Cantaloupe	Cucumis melo	NC
Carambola	Averrhoa carambola	NC
Casimiroa	Casimiroa edulis	--
Cashew	Anacardium occidentale	NC
Cherimoya	Annona cherimola	CL
Cherry	Prunus sp.	CL
Chocolate Pudding Fruit	Diospyros digyna	CL
--D--
Dragon's Eye	Dimocarpus longan	NC?
Durian	Durio zibethinus	CL
--F--
Fig	Ficus carica	CL
Feijoa	Feijoa sellowiana	CL
--G--
Giant Granadilla	Passiflora quadrangularis	CL
Governor’s Plum	Flacourtia indica	--
Grape	Vitis sp.	NC
Grapefruit	Citrus paradisi	NC?
Grumichama	Eugenia brasiliensis	NC
Guava	Psidium guajava	CL

--I--
Indian Jujube	Ziziphus mauritiana	--
--J--
Jak Fruit, Jackfruit	Artocarpus heterophyllus	CL
--K--
Kei Apple	Dovyalis caffra	CL
Kinnow	Citrus aurantiifolia	NC
Kiwi	Actinidia delicios	CL
Kumquat	Fortunella sp.	NC?
--L--
Langsat	Lansium domesticum	NC
Lime	Citrus aurantiifolia	NC
Longan	Dimocarpus longan	NC?
Loquat	Eriobotrya japonica	--
Lychee, Litchi	Litchi chinensis	NC
--M--
Macadamia Nut	Macadamia integrifolia	--
Malay Apple	Syzygium malaccense	NC
Mamey Sapote	Pouteria sapota	CL
Mandarin	Citrus reticulata	NC
Mango	Mangifera indica	CL
Mangosteen	Garcinia mangostana	--
Monstera	Monstera deliciosa	CL
Mousambi	Citrus limetta	NC
Muskmelon	Cucumis melo	NC
--O--
Orange	Citrus sinensis	NC
Oriental Persimmon	Diospyros kaki	CL

--P--
Papaya	Carica papaya	CL
Pawpaw	Asimina triloba	CL
Peach	Prunus sp.	CL
Pear	Pyrus sp.	CL
Peanutbutter Fruit	Bunchosia armeniaca	CL
Pejibaye	Bactris gasipaes	--
Pineapple	Ananas comosus	NC
Plantain	Musa sp.	CL
Plum	Prunus sp.	CL
Pomegranate	Punica granatum	NC
Pummelo	Citrus grandis	NC?
Purple Passion Fruit	Passiflora edulis	CL
--R--
Rambutan	Nephelium lappaceum	NC
Raspberry	Rubus sp	NC
Red Raspberry	Rubus idaeus	NC
Rockmelon	Cucumis melo	NC
--S--
Salak	Salacca edulis	--
Santol	Sandoricum koetjape	--
Sapodilla	Manilkara zapota	CL
Soursop	Annona muricata	CL
Strawberry	Fragaria × ananassa, Fragaria sp.	CL
Sugarapple	Annona squamosa	CL
Surinam Cherry	Eugenia uniflora	NC
Sweet Lemon	Citrus limetta	NC
Sweet Lime	Citrus limetta	NC
--T--
Tamarind	Tamarindus indica	--
Thornless Blackberry	Rubus fruticosus	NC
Tomato	Lycopersicon esculentum	CL
--U--
Umari Roxo	Poraqueiba sericea	NC
--W--
Watermelon	Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus	NC
Wax Jambu	Syzygium samarangense	NC
--Y--
Yellow Passion Fruit	Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa	CL

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

Help us improve this table. Please let us know which plants are Climacteric and which are Non-Climacteric - 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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