188 BEITISH PLANTS 



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 Leguminosae, but in 

 some plants the pods are curiously modified. In medick 

 (Medicago), the pods are rolled up in a spiral, and in the 



a 



FIG. 86. POROUS FIG. 87. TOOTHED FIG. 88. CAPSULE OF 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 Cruciferae. 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. 4 silicula is a short 

 and broad variety of the siliqua e.g., shepherd's- purse. 



