Schizocarp

The indehiscent (remaining closed) schizocarp of Malva moschata will later split into segments called mericarps.

A schizocarp /ˈskɪzəkɑːrp/ is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps.

There are different definitions:

• Any dry fruit composed of multiple carpels that separate.^[1]

Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more seeds (the mericarps of Abutilon have two or more seeds^[2]) and each mericarp can be either:

• Indehiscent (remaining closed), such as in the carrot and other Umbelliferae or in members of the genus Malva, or
• Dehiscent (splitting open to release the seed), for example members of the genus Geranium. This is similar to what happens with a capsule, but with an extra stage. (In Abutilon, the mericarp is sometimes only partially dehiscent and does not release the seed.)

• Any fruit that separates into indehiscent one-seeded segments,^[3] such as a loment, Malva, Malvastrum, and Sida.

References

1. "Merriam-Webster Dictionary".
2. Western New Mexico University Department of Natural Sciences
3. Bell, A.D. (1997). Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.

External links

• Wayne's Word: Schizocarps of Filaree and Cheeseweed