Silique

A silique or siliqua (plural "siliques" or "siliquae") is a type of fruit (seed capsule) having two fused carpels 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, 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).