FRUITS AND SEEDS 185 



2. Fruits derived from an ovary formed of more than 

 one carpel : 



(a) Carpels separate : 



(i.) Each one-seeded, 

 (ii.) Each many-seeded. 



(6) Carpels united : 



(i.) Each one-seeded, 

 (ii.) Each many-seeded. 



This looks satisfactory as far as it goes. Let us proceed 

 further, and consider : 



1. Whether the carpels split open to allow the seeds to 

 escape (dehiscent fruits) ; 



2. Whether the carpels merely separate (schizo- 

 carps) ; or 



3. Whether the fruit is indehiscent. 



The attempt to combine this with the preceding group- 

 ing results in confusion, which becomes worse as we still 

 further break up the divisions. 



Moreover, biological necessities obtrude themselves 

 during the development of the fruit, and seriously affect 

 the number of ovules or the number of parts of the ovary. 

 Thus, an ovary may be formed of several carpels, with 

 one or two ovules in each. While the fruit is forming, 

 one ovule may get the start of the rest, monopolize all 

 the available food, and reduce the fruit to a one-seeded 

 indehiscent structure e.g., nuts. It is difficult in a case 

 like this to decide in what group the fruit should be placed, 

 and whether more stress should be laid upon the fruit as 

 it is or what it was when it started. In any case, we 

 cannot separate biology from morphology. 



We will consider another difficulty. The majority of 

 fruit- classifications bravely start off with the primary 

 division into 



1. True fruits. 



2. False fruits (pseudocarps). 



In the first, the fruit is assumed to be derived from the 

 ovary alone ; in the latter, other parts of the flower are 

 involved, usually the receptacle. The whole inflorescence 

 may constitute a single fruit, in which case flowering 

 shoots also are involved, as in the fig. Among true fruits 

 are included those derived from an inferior ovary e.g.. 



