SEEDS AND FRUITS. I 39 



hard and thick, forming the wall of the stone, 

 seed-coat thin (the seed is the " kernel "). Ex. 

 Cherry, plum, peach, &c. 



b. Berry, usually many-seeded, unilocular, epicarp 



tough, mesocarp and endocarp succulent, sur- 

 rounding the seeds, which have firm coats. 



(a.) Superior. Ex. Grape, date (with one 



seed and a papery endocarp). 

 (b.) Inferior. Ex. Gooseberry, currant, en- 

 cumber. 



c. Htsperidium. — Allied to (b.) Many carpels, loculi, 



and seeds, superior ; epicarp and mesocarp form- 

 ing a rind or peel ; endocarp a thin membrane, 

 from which numerous succulent hair structures 

 have grown out, forming a pulp by which 

 the loculi are filled and the seeds surrounded. 

 Ex. The term is restricted to the fruit of 

 orange, lemon, and closely allied forms. 



2. Dehiscent. — Pericarp bursts and liberates the seeds. 



a. Succulent Capsule. — The pericarp splits into valves 



and sets free the seeds. Ex. Horse-chestnut, 

 where the prickly green husk is pericarp (it 

 must not be confused with the similar structure 

 found in beech and sweet chestnut, p. 135). 



b. Dehiscent Drupe. — Epicarp and mesocarp fleshy, 



bursting to liberate the seed, still enclosed in 

 the hard endocarp. Ex. Walnut, the shell of 

 which is endocarp. (N.B. — The shell of hazel- 

 nut is pericarp. Walnuts are pickled when the 

 entire pericarp is present, and before the endo- 

 carp has hardened.) 



c. Dehiscent Berry. — Resembles berry, but firm outer 



layer of pericarp bursts to liberate seeds 



When an apocarpous pistil consists of more than one carpel, 

 each of these ripens into a simple fruit, and the ripe carpels taken 

 together form an aggregate fruit. Thus, in buttercup there is such 

 a fruit made up of achenes, and so on. In some an aggregate 

 fruit appears to be a simple one, as in raspberry and blackberry. 

 These are collections of minute drupes, drupels as they may be 

 termed. 



