CLASSIFICATION OF FRUITS 
237 
The following table shows the main kinds of each group : 
Dry : 
Dehiscent: 
Pod Follicle 
Loment Silique 
Capsule 
Indehiscent: 
Nut Grain 
Samara Akene 
Fleshy : 
Berry Pome 
Drupe Multiple 
Aggregate Accessory 
Dehiscent fruits show 
many adaptations, most 
of which are based on 
some peculiarity of the 
pod. Take the bean for 
example. The pod is 
elastic. When it dries 
this causes it to split, 
then to curl up, throw¬ 
ing the seeds out by force. 
Another adaptation is 
that the funicle (see § 193) 
Figure 223. — Leaf, Flowers, and Fruit 
of Witch-hazel. 
This picture was made in October when 
the shrub blossoms. It is pollinated by 
insects that fly in the late fall. The fruit 
remains dormant during the winter and 
starts to develop in the spring. By fall it 
is mature and the exploding fruit scatters 
the seed. The name witch-hazel is said 
to have been given because it seems to fruit 
first in the spring and then blossom in the 
fall. It was supposed to be possessed by 
witches ; hence the name. The name was 
given way back in the time when ignorant 
people explained things they didn’t under¬ 
stand by ascribing them to the witches. 
dries up and falls off when 
its work is done, leaving the seeds free in the pod. A pod 
which has elastic tissue is the wild cucumber which forces 
its seeds out violently. Still another is the witch-hazel. 
A pod which explodes violently is that of the jewel-weed 
which requires only a touch to set it off, scattering the seeds 
far and near. 
A capsule differs from a pod chiefly in having more than 
one chamber in immature stages. A capsule usually splits 
