264 INDEHISCENT SYNCARPOUS FRUITS. 



so united together as to appear one in their mature state. These 

 fruits are either dry or succulent : in the former case, being usually 

 dehiscent, in the latter, indehiscent. 



550. Indehiscent ttyncarpona Fruits. The Berry (baCCO) IS a SUCCU- 



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

 by the placentas. The name is usually given to such fruits as the 

 Gooseberry and Currant, in which the calyx is adherent to the ovary, 

 and the placentas are parietal, the seeds being ultimately detached 

 from the placenta, and lying loose in the pulp. Others have applied 

 it also to those in which the ovary is free, as in the Grape, Potato, and 

 Ardisia, and the placentas central or free central. The latter might be 

 separated under the name Uva (grape). In general, the name of baccate 

 or berried is applied to all pulpy fruits. In the Pomegranate there is 

 a peculiar baccate many-celled fruit, having a tough rind formed by 

 the calyx, enclosing two rows of carpels placed above each other. The 

 seeds are immersed in pulp, and are attached irregularly to the parietes r 

 base, and centre. The fruit has been called Balausta (balawtium, 

 flower of pomegranate), and the tough rind is called malicorium (a 

 name applied to it by Pliny). 



551. The Pepo or Peponida (-KIKUV, a pumpkin), is illustrated by the 

 fruit of the Gourd, Melon, aud other Cucurbitaeese, where the calyx 

 is adherent, the rind is thick and fleshy, and there are three or more 

 seed-bearing parietal placentas, either surrounding a central cavity, 

 or sending prolongations inwards. The fruit of the Papaw resembles 

 the Pepo, but the ovary is not adherent to the calyx. 



552. The Hesperidium (golden fruit in the garden of Hesperides) is 

 the name given to the fruit of the Orange, &c., in which the epicarp 

 and mesocarp form a separable rind, and the endocarp sends prolonga- 

 tions inwards, forming triangular divisions, in which pulpy cells are 

 developed so as to surround the seeds which are attached to the inner 



n angle. Both Pepo and Hesperidium may be 



considered as modifications of the Berry. 



553. The Pome (pomum, an apple) seen in 

 the Apple, Pear, Quince, &c., is a fleshy fruit 

 with the calyx adherent, and forming along 

 with the epicarp and mesocarp a thick cellular 

 mass, which is eatable, while the endocarp is 

 scaly or horny, and forms separate cells enclos- 

 ing the seeds. The covering of the cells is 

 472 sometimes stony, as in the Medlar (fig. 472), 



and the Holly, forming what has been called a Nuculanium (nucula, a 

 nut). In the Medlar, the stony endocarps are called pyr&twe 



Fig. 472. Fruit of common Medlar (Mespilus gtrmanica). Transverse section showing, e, epi- 

 carp. s, Sarcocarp. n, Endocarp ;forming stony coverings of the seeds. The fruit has been 

 called nuculanium, and the hard central cells pyrense. 



