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. : Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more seeds (the mericarps of ''

Abutilon ''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics Indehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that op ...

(remaining closed), such as in the

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

and other

Umbelliferae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...

or in members of the genus ''

Malva ''Malva'' is a genus of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae. It is one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temper ...

'', or :*

Dehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that op ...

(splitting open to release the seed), for example members of the genus ''

Geranium ''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in ...

''. 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, such as a

loment A loment (or lomentum) is a type of dehiscent legume fruit that breaks apart at constrictions occurring between segments, so that each segment contains one seed. It is a type of schizocarp. Tick trefoil (''Desmodium'') and sweet vetch (''Hedysarum ...

, ''

'', ''

Malvastrum ''Malvastrum'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae. Its native range is the New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ...

'', and '' Sida''.

References

Fruit morphology {{Botany-stub