FRUITS AND SEEDS. 253 



279. Dry Closed Fruits or Akeuial (Achenial) Fruits 



are given various names, but the chief types are (I) akene 

 (or achene), with membranous or leathery pericarp e.g. 

 Buttercups, Little Celandine, Anemone, Cinquefoil ; the akene 

 of Composites (Daisy, Dandelion, etc.) only differs in being 

 produced from an inferior ovary; (2) the grain, in which 

 pericarp and seed-coat are firmly united Grasses ; (3) the 

 nut, with hard pericarp (the term is usually applied to all 

 large or hard-coated akenes) e.g. Hazel, Oak, Beech, Sweet 

 Chestnut, Hornbeam ; (4) the samara or winged akene (or 

 nut) e.g. Elm, Birch, Ash. The akenes of Composites and 

 Valerians often have a tuft of hairs, usually sessile but 

 stalked in Dandelion and G-oat's-beard, called the pappus 

 ( calyx), at the top; those of Clematis have a long plume 

 (= style), those of Avens a hooked style. 



Examine and sketch the fruits of Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, 

 Cinquefoil, Daisy, Yarrow, Dandelion, Groundsel, Thistle, Nipple- 

 wort, Goafs-beard, Wheat, Maize, Hazel, Oak, Beech, " Spanish " 

 Chestnut, Elm, Birch, Ash, Valerian, Clematis, Avens. 



280. Fleshy Fruits. A few fleshy fruits open to let the 

 seeds escape e.g. Horse Chestnut, some G-ourds, Balsam. 

 Three chief types of closed fleshy fruits can be recognised : 

 (1) the berry, in which the pericarp is soft and fleshy through- 

 out except for the membranous or firm skin ; (2) the drupe, 

 in which the innermost portion of the pericarp forms a hard 

 stone (endocarp) embedded in the fleshy middle portion (meso- 

 carp), with a membranous skin (epicarp) on the outside ; 

 (3) the pome, in which the receptacle becomes fleshy, en- 

 closing the ripe carpels. 



281. Drupes (" stone fruits "). A simple drupe is 

 formed from a single free carpel, and has one stone with one 

 seed inside it e.g. Plum, Cherry. Drupes may, however, be 

 syncarpous, in which case each chamber of the ovary may 

 form a distinct stone or drupe. The so-called " berries " of 

 Holly, Dogwood, and Elder are really compound drupes of 

 this kind. The Walnut is a drupe from which the mesocarp 

 (flesh) peels off during ripening, and allows the stone, en- 

 closing a single seed, to escape. The drupe of the Almond 

 has a velvety skin and rather tough mesocarp, which splits 



