An achene (/əˈkiːn/;[1] from Ancient Greek ἀ (a) 'privative' and χαίνειν (khaínein) 'to gape'),[2] also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not open at maturity). Achenes contain a single seed that nearly fills the pericarp, but does not adhere to it. In many species, what is called the "seed" is an achene, a fruit containing the seed. The seed-like appearance is owed to the hardening of the fruit wall (pericarp), which encloses the solitary seed so closely as to seem like a seed coat.[2]
- ^ "achene". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 July 2018. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ a b Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.