CLASSIFICATION OF FRUITS. 
in some fruits the pericarp seems to consist of three parts — 
1st The epicarp* the skin of the fruit, or membranous part which 
surrounds it, and which is a kind of epidermis ; 
2d. The sarcocarp^\ a part more or less fleshy, corky or coriace- 
ous, often scarcely perceptible, and covered by the epicarp , 
3d. The endocarp.X an internal membrane of the fruit, which hues 
the cavity, and by its folds forms the partitions and cells. 
In the peach, for example, the skin is the epicarp ; the pulpy, cel- 
lular substance which absorbs the juices of the fruit is the sarco- 
carp ; the shell which encloses the kernel, deprived of moisture, and 
rendered drj^ and tough, is the endocarp. The endocarp is also call- 
ed the putamen. 
In most fruits the pericarp consists of the following parts : 
1st. Valves or external pieces^ which form the sides of the seed 
vessels. If a pericarp is formed of but one, it is univalved ; the 
chestnut is of this kind. A pericarp with two valves is said to be 
bivalvedy as a pea-pod. The pericarp of the violet is trrooJved; that 
of the stramonium qu-adrivalved. Most valves separate easily when 
the fruit is ripe ; this separation is known by the term dehiscence. 
2d. Sutures or seams, are lines which show the union of valves ; at 
these ' seams the valves separate in the mature stage of the plant,; 
they are very distinct in the pea-pod, which has two sutures. 
3d. Partitions or dissepiments, are internal memibranes which di- 
vide the pericarp into different cells; these are longitudinal when 
they extend from the base to the summit of the pericarp ; they are 
irajisverse when they extend from one side to the other. 
4th. Column or Columella, the axis of the fruit; this is the central 
point of union of the partitions of the seed vessels ; it may be seen 
distinctly in the core of an apple. 
5th. Cells, are divisions made by the dissepiments, and contain 
the seeds ; their number is seldom variable in the same genus of 
plants, and therefore serves as an important generic distinction. 
6th. Receptacle of the fruit, is that part of the pericap to which the 
seed remains attached until its perfect maturity; this organ, by 
means of connecting libres, conveys to the seed, for its nourishment, 
juices elaborated b}^ the pericarp. 
Some plants are destitute of a pericarp, as in the labiate flowers, 
compound flowers, and grasses; in these cases the seeds he in tlie 
bottom of the calyx, which performs the otfice of a pericai-p. 
Linnceus's Division of Pericarps. 
Linnaeus made a division of fruits into nine classes, viz.: Capsule, 
■Silique, Legume, Follicle, Drupe, Nut, Pome, Berry, and, Strobilum. 
1st. Capsule, a little chest or casket; this is a hollow pericarp 
which opens spontaneously by pores, as the poppy, or by valves, as 
the pink. The internal divisions of the capsule are called cells; 
these are the chambers appropriated for the reception of the seeds ; 
according to the number of these cells, the capsule is one-celled, two- 
celled, &c. The membranes by which the capsule is divided into 
cells are called dissepim,ents, or partitions ; these partitions are 
either parallel to the valves or contrary. The columella is the cen- 
tral pillar in a capsule ; and is the part which connects the several 
internal partitions with the seed. It takes its rise from the recep- 
* From epi, upon, and karpos, fruit. 
t From sarx, fiesh, Rnd karpos, frui t. t From endo, within, and karpos, fruit. 
Epicarp— -Sarocarp— Endocarp— Valves— Sutures— Partitions or dissepiments— Co- ' 
'}P^'l~Cells— Receptacle of the pericarp— Pericarp sometimes wanting— Linn£e.us'g 
division of pencarp.s— Capsule. 
