Fig. 798.—Three-celled capsule.
Fig. 799.—Water melon.
The fruit is the result of the flower, and if any objection be made by readers on the part of the common fig, it will be found that this appreciated fruit really consists of male and female flowers that are fertilized by the action of minute insects, which enter and depart (sometimes they die, and are found dead and black in the figs). No blossom is perceived on the tree, because within the green sac the so-called “seeds” (really the fruits) are developing. A fig is a sac full of fruits.
Fig. 800.—Legume.
Fig. 801.—Legume opened.
The legume or pod is formed of a single carpel bearing seeds. We annex illustrations of the pod. The covering is called the pericarp, and the parts when opened separate into valves. Dehiscent fruits shed their seeds, indehiscent fruits do not; they lie within the seed-vessel, like the acorns and nuts. These are dry fruits, but there are others of a soft nature, such as apples or gooseberries.