118 CLASSIFICATION OF FRUITS 



n . Loment. 



^ I Elongated Silique. 



I Short Some Silicles. 



y Capsule. 



q Pyxis. 



The fact, as stated above, that custom has not been uniform in the 

 application of the principles of classification leading to the above terms, 

 so that the latter are not employed in the same sense in different botan- 

 ical writings, renders it necessary that such a key as that presented 

 should be supplemented by a detailed consideration of the limitations 

 and modifications of each class of fruits. 



The Berry (Figs. 281 and 310). — A fruit with a pericarp fieshy through- 

 out, with the exception of the epicarp. Good illustrations are the grape 

 and the belladonna. In these, the fruit contains little or no cavity 

 and the seeds are embedded in a soft pulp. This is the typical form, 

 from which we see a variation in the Tomato, in the direction of a 

 central cavity, which in the Capsicum becomes complete. The latter is 

 frequently called a capsule and connects the berries with the latter 

 class, but it is more properly grouped with the berries. A similar 

 modification, though more slight, is found in the checkerberry (Fig. 303) 

 and the cranberry. The term has also been applied to the pomegranate 

 and similar fruits, but these, however soft within, possess a distinctly 

 hardened exocarp and are not true berries. As will be seen farther on, 

 comparatively few of the fruits which are designated as berries in 

 common parlance are really such. The berry may possess one or more 

 cells. 



The Hesperidium (Fig. 329) . — A berry-like fruit with a soft, but tough 

 rind. The term has never been applied to other fruits than those 

 related to the orange and lemon. They are several-celled. 



The Pepo (Fig. 332). — A berry-like fruit in structure, usually hollow 

 and with an indurated rind. It is one-celled. Good illustrations are 

 the pumpkin and melon, and the application of the term is by most 

 authors restricted to the fruits of that family (the Ciicurbitaceae) ; 

 but it is entirely proper to extend it to such very similar fruits of other 

 families as the Calabash (in the Bignoniaceae) and the Pomegranate 

 (in the Punicaccae). 



The Drupe or Stone Fruit (Fig. 333). — A fruit with a sarcocarp and 

 epicarp and a single thick bony putamen. Although typically one-celled 

 and one-seeded, the term is applicable to similar fruits with several 



