188 BRITISH PLANTS 



The term " capsule " is used in the widest sense, and 

 includes many varieties : 



(a) Formed from one carpel : 

 (i.) Legume, 

 (ii.) FoUicle. 

 (6) Formed from more than one carpel : 

 (i.) SUiqua and sUicula. 

 (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 roUed up in a spiral, and in the 



Fig. 86. — Porous Fig. 87. — Toothed Fig. 88. — Capsuie of Scab- 

 Capsttle of Capsule of let Pimpeenel, splitting 



SuAPDEAQOif. Silene, tkansveksely. 



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 sHiqua similarly becomes many-jointed. 



A follicle is a pod which splits down one seam only, 

 iisually 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. A silicula is a short 

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



