Definition - What does Dehiscent mean?

In botany, dehiscent refers to plants that open at maturity. These plants have a particular line of weakness that split open to release the inner contents. Dehiscence is common among sporangia, anthers, and fruits. In some cases, the structure may completely detach from the plant. As far as dehiscent fruits are concerned, the outer covering needs to break to allow the seeds to disperse and grow.

MaximumYield explains Dehiscent

Occasionally, the dispersed seeds are spread by animal consumption. This often occurs in beans, peas, nuts, and pumpkins. On the other hand, indehiscent such as dandelions and sunflowers tend to burst on their own when they become dry.

Some dry dehiscent fruits such as legumes have a drier seed pod that can be divided into two. These include runner beans, alfalfa, and sweet peas. Other dry dehiscent fruits like follicles may contain just a few seeds because they only split on one side. In other plants, there may be a loss of structure known as abscission during the process of dehiscence.

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