204 



COMPOUND ORGANS OF PLANTS. 

 Fig. 100. 



Pig. 100. Cremocarp of fennel (jb'i^iiiculum Tulgare,) arriTed at maturity, showing 

 the carpophore and the two suspended mericarpa or hcmicarps. 



bunches from the branches of the ash and maple, commonly 

 known as keys. The fruit of the maple consists of two united 

 Samara. 



Tlie Pome, (pomuni, an apple.) This is a fleshy indishis- 

 cent fruit with a superior calyx, which is therefore adherent to 

 the ovary. In the mature pome, the epicarp and calyx are 

 blended together and form along with the mesocarp the thick 

 cellular and edible part of the fruit, whilst the endocarp 

 enveloping the seeds in its interior takes the consistency of 

 parchment, and usually forms five cavities in the centre of the 

 fruit. 



The Drupe. — This is a thick, fleshy and indehiscent fruit, 

 containing an unilocular nut, as in the plum and cherry. 

 This nut is formed by the ossification of that portion of the 

 pericarp which is called the endocarp, which in this case forms 

 a strong stony envelope around the seed. In drupaceous 

 fruits, such as the peach and cherry, the epicarp, mesocarp, 

 and endocarp are easily distinguished and separated, but in 

 the nut these parts are all so much ossified and blended 

 together as to be indistinguishable. The nut only difiers from 

 the drupe in being a less .succulent and more coriaceous 



