34 BOTANY. 



be either dry or succulent, according as the pericarp remains more or less 

 foliaceous in structure, or becomes fleshy or pulpy. Fruits which open 

 when ripe to discharge the seeds are dehiscent ; otherwise they are 

 indchiscent. An indchiscent apocarpous fruit may contain but one seed, 

 and is then tnotiospermotf.s. The achcBninni is a dry monospermous fruit, 

 the pericarp of Avhich is closely applied to the fruit, but separable from it 

 It may be saJitary (single) or aggregate (several achaenia placed on a 

 common receptacle). The aggregate acheenia of the rose are known as the 

 cijnarrhodum. Achnenia are caudate Avhen the styles remain attached. 

 The fruit of Composite, sometimes called cypseld, is an achgenium united to 

 the tube of the calyx. When the pericarp is thin, and surrounds the seed 

 like a bladder, the achsenium becomes a utricle. When the pericarp is 

 extended in the form of a winged appendage, the achaenium becomes a 

 samara. WHicn the pericarp is inseparably united with the seed the fruit 

 becomes a caryopsis The nut is a one-celled fruit, with a hardened 

 pericarp, surrounded l)y bracts at the base, as on the hazelnut, which, 

 besides, is enveloped by leafy appendages, forming the husk or hull. The 

 drupe is a succulent fruit, the pericarp consisting of epicarp, mesocarp, 

 and endocarp, and when mature containing a single seed, as in the 

 peach. 



Dehiscent Apocarpous fruits may consist either of a few seeds only 

 {oligospermous), or the seeds may be numerous (polyspermous). The first 

 fruit to be mentioned under this head is the follicle, which is a mature carpel, 

 containing several seeds, and opening by the ventral suture. The legume, or 

 pod, is a solitary, simple carpel, dehiscing by the ventral and dorsal suture, 

 the seeds being borne on the former. Sometimes the legume is contracted at 

 intervals, including each seed in a separate cell, which separates from its 

 neighbor when ripe. This constitutes the lo?nentum. 



Indehiscent Syxcarpous Fruits. The berry (^bacca) is a succulent 

 fruit, in which the seeds are immersed in a pulpy mass, formed by the 

 placentas, as in the gooseberry. The pepo, or peponida, as in the pumpkin or 

 melon, is composed of about three carpels, forming a three-celled indehiscent 

 fruit with parietal placentae. The hesperidium, seen in the orange, is a berry 

 having a pericarp separable into an epicarp, an endocarp, and a sarcocarp, 

 the endocarp sending prolongations inwards, forming triangular divisions in 

 which pulpy cells are developed, so as to surround the seeds. The balausta 

 has the seeds arranged irregularly on the backs of the cells, with the carpels 

 inclosed within a tough rind. The pome is a fleshy fruit, with the calyx 

 adherent, and in connexion with the epicarp and mesocarp, forming a thick 

 cellular edible mass ; the endocarp forms separate horny cells, inclosing the 

 seeds ; e. g. the apple. 



Dehiscent Syncarpous Fruits. By capside is meant all dry syncarpous 

 fruits opening by valves or pores. When the capsule opens by a lid it is 

 called a pyxidium. The siliqua consists of two carpels fastened together, 

 the placentae of which are parietal and separate from the valves, remaining 

 in the form of a replum, and connected by a membraneous expansion. 

 When the fruit is long and narrow, it is called a siliqua ; when short and 

 34 



