Fruits 



175 



mum forms a circle of seed-like fruits. Each one contains a 

 hard white shining seed. The fruit is borne below the flower 

 and is indehiscent ; that is, it does not open to let out the 

 seed. The fruit of the Composite family, to which Osteosper- 

 mum belongs, all have their fruit formed in this way, although, 

 instead of being smooth and shining, 

 it may he woolly or differently marked. 



A dry one-seeded inferior fruit is 

 called a cypsella. 



Protea and Clematis have also dry 

 indehiscent fruits. The styles of the 

 ovaries remain on the ripe fruit, and 

 the enclosed seed is attached at one 

 place, the placenta. A Protea flower 

 has hut one ovary, but Clematis has a 



Fig. 167. — Floret of Sow-thistle. 

 (From Edmonds and Mar- 

 loth' s " Elementary Botany 

 for South .Africa ".) 



Fig. 168. — Tailed achene 

 of Protea jru'tlifera, 

 Thunb. (From Ed- 

 monds and Marloth's 

 " Elementary Botany for 

 South Africa ".) 



cluster or an etasrio of fruits. In these flowers the ovary is 

 borne above the perianth. 



A dry one-seeded superior fruit is an achene. 



In the Strawberry the receptacle which bears the achenes 

 is convex and fleshy ; in the rose it is hollow, andconceals the 

 hairy ovaries. 



