252 



MANUAL OP BOTANY 



that the splitting does not liberate the seeds. The chief varieties 

 are the following : — 



The Cremocarp. — An inferior, dry, indehisoent, two-celled, 

 two-seeded fruit. The two cells, or halves, of which this fruit 

 is composed, are joined face to face to a common axis or carpo- 

 phore, from which they separate when ripe, but to which they 

 always remain attached by a slender cord which suspends them 

 [fig. 540). Each half -fruit is termed a mericarp, and the inner 

 face the commissure. Each portion of the fruit resembles an 

 achsenium, except in being inferior; hence the name ddachcBuiiim 

 has been given to this fruit. Examples of the cremocarp as 

 above defined are found universally in the plants of the order 

 Umbelliferse, but in no other order. 



Fie. 543. 



Fig. 544. 



Fig. 543. Fruit of the Castor-oil plant (^Riniiun communis), with tlie carpels 

 separating from each other mthout opening, c, c, c. Carpels, a. Columella. 



sd. Dorsal suture where each carpel ultimately opens. Fig. 644. Fruit 



of Sandbox-tree (^Hura crepitans'). It is Composed of fifteen carpels which 

 separate from the axis when ripe, and burst with great force. 



The Samara. — A superior, two- or more celled fruit, each 

 cell being dry, indehiscent, one- or few-seeded, and having its 

 pericarp extended into a winged expansion. Examples may be 

 foiind in the Maple {fig. 541), Ash, and Elm. By some botanists 

 each winged portion of such a fruit is called a samara, and thus 

 such fruits as the ■ Maple are considered to be formed of two 

 united samaras. 



The Carcerule. — A superior, many-celled fruit, each cell 

 being dry, indehiscent, and one- or few-seeded, and all the cells 

 more or less cohering by their united styles to a central axis. 

 The common Mallow {fig. 542) is a good example of this fruit. 

 In the Geranium the central axis with its adherent styles is 

 prolonged upwards into a large beak {fig. 526). 



The Begma. — When the schizocarp consists of three or more 



