Mericarp

Mericarp (from the Greek meros, "a part;" luvrpos, a "fruit") is a useful general term applied in botany to the parts, otherwise termed nutlets, or cocci, into which some syncarpous fruits (schizocarps) split when ripe, without exposing the seed. In the Umbelliferas (q.v.), for instance, the cremocarp splits into two mericarps (of which the so-called "caraway-seed" is a familiar example), each of which is a carpel. In Borraginea? and Labiate (q.v.), on the other hand, the fruit (regma) splits into four, each of which is half a carpel. [Fruit.]