Schizocarp Explained

A schizocarp 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.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
2. http://www.wnmu.edu/academic/nspages/gilaflora/abutilon_parvulum.html Western New Mexico University Department of Natural Sciences
3. Book: Bell, A.D.. 1997. Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology. Oxford University Press. Oxford, U.K..