A type of fruit that develops from a flower with a single ovary and consists of a hard, dry shell containing seeds.
From Greek achaene (not opening) and karpos (fruit). Describes fruits that don't split open naturally to release seeds, distinguishing them from dehiscent fruits.
Many achaenocarps are so tough that they need animals to crack them open—dandelions and maples evolved achaenocarp-like seeds that stick to fur or catch the wind instead, showing how evolution created different solutions to the same 'seed dispersal' problem.
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