A silique or siliqua (plural ''siliques'' or ''siliquae'') is a type of
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...
(seed
capsule) having two fused
carpels
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pistils' ...
with the length being more than three times the width.
When the length is less than three times the width of the dried fruit it is referred to as a silicle.
The outer walls of the ovary (the ''valves'') usually separate when ripe, then being named ''dehiscent'', and leaving a persistent partition (the ''replum''). ''Siliques'' are present in many members of the mustard family,
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...
, but some species have ''silicles'' instead. Some species closely related to plants with true ''siliques'' have fruits with a similar structure that do not open when ripe; these are usually called ''indehiscent siliques'' (compare
dehiscence).
Lunaria annua MHNT.BOT.2004.0.779.jpg, Silicles of ''Lunaria annua
''Lunaria annua'', called honesty or annual honesty in English, is a species of flowering plant in the cabbage and mustard family Brassicaceae. It is native to the Balkans and south west Asia, and cultivated throughout the temperate world.
Desc ...
'' – MHNT
Capsella bursa-pastoris Sturm23.jpg, ''Capsella bursa-pastoris
''Capsella bursa-pastoris'', known as shepherd's purse because of its triangular flat fruits, which are purse-like, is a small annual and ruderal flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is native to eastern Europe and Asia minor, ...
'' with silicles
Raphanus sativus 004.jpg, Indehiscent siliques of radish ''Raphanus sativus
The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times.
Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw ...
''
See also
*
Legume
A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock for ...
– a fruit type that somewhat resembles a silique, but is derived from one carpel that typically splits along two sides.
References
Fruit morphology
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