There was a problem when proofreading this page.
INTRODUCTION
17
term fruit is applied to the seed or seeds and their adhesive and protective coverings.
An image should appear at this position in the text. A high-res raw scan of the page is available. To use it as-is, as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|British Flowering Plants.djvu/31}}". If it needs to be edited first (e.g. cropped or rotated), you can do so by clicking on the image and following the guidance provided. [Show image] |
A simple or single fruit is produced by a single flower (a Nut), and an aggregate fruit is formed by the union of several flowers (a Mulberry). Fruits may be either dry or succulent, dehiscent or indehiscent; that is, they either open when ripe to allow of the escape of the seeds, or else fall off without opening. Dehiscent fruits, which are short and broad, are generally called capsules; and when long, and containing several seeds in a row, they are pods or legumes. Sometimes the pod is longitudinal, divided by a partition through the middle into two seed-chambers (figs. 94-6); in