silicle n : short broad silique occurring in some cruciferous plants

English

Alternative spellings

• silicula
• silicule

Noun

1. A short silique, such as the seed capsule (fruit) of shepherd's purse.

Translations

• Finnish: litu

A silique is a fruit (seed capsule) of 2 fused carpels that separate when ripe, leaving a peristant partition, with the length being more than twice the width. This classification includes many members of the Brassicaceae family, but some members, such as Capsella bursa-pastroris L., have a shorter fruit of similar structure, in which case the fruit is called "silicle".