Fruits and seeds

Type I.b: Simple dry fruits

• Derived from the ovary of a single carpel or several fused carpels
• Pericarp may be tough and woody or thin and papery
• Two types:
• dehiscent
• indehiscent

Dry dehiscent fruits

• Split open at maturity to release seeds
• Wind often aids seed dispersal
• Types characterized by how they open:
• Follicle - splits open along one seam (magnolia and milkweed)
• Legume - splits open along two seams (beans and peas)
• Capsule - several pores or slits (cotton and poppy)

Legume - pea

• Legume pod splits along two seams to disperse seeds

Capsule

• Cotton fruit is a capsule splitting open along five lines
• Seeds are covered with long hairs (trichomes) which are the commercial cotton fiber

Indehiscent fruits

• Do not split open to release seeds
• Common types
• Achene
• Samara
• Grain
• Nut