188 BRITISH PLANTS 
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The term “capsule ’’ is used in the widest sense, and 
includes many varieties : 
(a) Formed from one carpel : 
(i.) Legume. 
(ii.) Follicle. 
(6) Formed from more than one carpel : 
(i.) Siliqua and silicula. 
(ii.) Capsule proper. 
The pod, or legume (Fig. 90), is formed from one carpel, 
and splits down the two seams, back and front—e.g., pea. 
The fruit is characteristic of the Leguminose, but in 
some plants the pods are curiously modified. In medick 
(Medicago), the pods are rolled up in a spiral, and in the 
I/ 
Fic. 86.—Porovus Fic. 87.—TooTHEeD Fic. 88.—CapsuLE or ScaR- 
CAPSULE OF CAPSULE OF LET PIMPERNEL, SPLITTING 
SNAPDRAGON, | Silene. TRANSVERSELY. 
a, persistent calyx. 
smaller species they become two- or even one-seeded— 
e.g., M. lupulina. In other cases the pod becomes 
separated into one-seeded sections by transverse parti- 
tions, forming a jointed pod, or lomentum. These split 
off consecutively, beginning at the top, and releasing the 
seeds one by one—e.g., sainfoin (Fig. 91). In the radish 
the siliqua similarly becomes many-jointed. 
A follicle is a pod which splits down one seam only, 
usually the inner or ventral—e.g., larkspur (Fig. 92). 
The siliqua (Fig. 93) is characteristic of the Wallflower 
family—the Crucifere. It is formed of two carpels joined 
down the middle by a partition. The carpels split away 
from below upwards, leaving the seeds upon the partition, 
from which they are easily detached. A silicula is a short 
and broad variety of the siliqua—e.g., shepherd’s-purse. 
