💥 Split, Open, Scatter! – Exploring Dehiscent Dry Fruits

🍂 In this season, every plant is preparing for the future. Each one is thinking: “How can I protect my seeds?” Some wrap their seeds in thorny armor. Others hide them inside hard, dry shells.And some… make their seeds irresistible—coating them in sweet, colorful, juicy fruit, hoping animals will carry them far. 🐿️🍎🐦 The world is full of seed strategies.

Some fruits open with a pop to release their treasures. Others stay tightly sealed. Some beg to be eaten. Others say, “Don’t touch!” Every fruit tells a story about how life continues. 🌱✨

Some seeds are launched into the wind, floating like tiny parachutes. Others hitchhike on fur and your socks, holding on with hooks and barbs. And some wait quietly, tucked in hidden chambers, until the time is right… then crack open to let their seeds go.

We’ve been exploring many kinds of fruits lately—soft, juicy, sweet ones. We called them succulent fruits, because they hold so much juice. 🍎🍇🍑

But not all fruits are like that. Unlike the juicy ones we’ve tasted and explored— these fruits are not meant to be eaten. They are not succulent, they are dry, often brittle, sometimes paper-thin. But they hold a different kind of magic.

There are two kinds of dry fruits: dehiscent fruits ( 👏de–his–cent 👏) , which means to split open. They split open on their own when the seeds are ready. And indehiscent fruits, (👏In-de-his-cent 👏👏) which hold their seeds tightly and fall to the ground whole (like acorns or maple samaras).

🍂 Today I brought a fruit that is not for eating. Hanging on a thin branch like a tiny ornament… kind of like a deep pink pumpkin—just the size of a berry. 🎃 This is the fascinating fruit of a spindle tree.

The spindle tree has been known to humans for centuries. Its wood is so strong, smooth and straight that people used it to carve spindles—tools for spinning wool into thread. That’s where it got its name!

But the real surprise is in the fruit. If we wait patiently long enough… ☀️ When the season changes, and the sun has dried the bright pink pericarp just enough… It splits open. POP! All by itself. Inside the little fruit, dressed in orange, shining like a jewels, sometimes two or more, sitting in tiny cradles. Those bright colors in which the seeds are dressed ? That’s a signal to birds and other animals: “Here I am! Eat me, carry me far!” 🐦✨ This is a special type of dehiscent fruit called capsule , meaning "little box". Truly it is a litle box, hiding bright treasures inside. Like the poppy seeds, that open on top like a salt shaker, once the pod is dry.

But not all dehiscent fruits open like this capsule. 🌿 Some open down two seams, like a bag with two zips. These are called legumes—just like peas and beans. From Latin legumen, meaning “bean". You might have heard the snap! when they dry and curl open in the sun.

🌿 Others are more gentle—splitting open along just one seam, like a purse with one zip. These are called follicles, from Latin folliculus, meaning “small bag.” They do indeed look like a small purse full with precious seeds, ready to jump on air's bag. You can see them in plants like milkweed or magnolia, quietly peeling open like a book to let their seeds go.

🌟 I wonder… Who are the helpers that carry these bright orange seeds from the spindle tree away and help with seed dispersal ? What other dehiscent fruits that split open we can find ? Let's go outside and find examples of all three types of dehiscent fruits. We can even collect some which did not open yet, and observe how they open when they dry.

With Montessori joy,

Vanina 😊