achene

Or a·kene

[ey-keen, uh-keen]

noun

Botany.

1. any small, dry, hard, one-seeded, indehiscent fruit.

achene

/ əˈkiːn /

noun

1. a dry one-seeded indehiscent fruit with the seed distinct from the fruit wall. It may be smooth, as in the buttercup, or feathery, as in clematis

achene

1. A small, dry, one-seeded fruit in which the seed sits free inside the hollow fruit, attached only by the stem of the ovule. Achenes are indehiscent (they do not split open when ripe). The fruits of the sunflower and elm are achenes.

Other Word Forms

• achenial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of achene¹

1835–45; < New Latin achaenium, equivalent to a- a- ⁶ + Greek chain- (stem of chaínein to gape) + Latin -ium -ium

Word History and Origins

Origin of achene¹

C19: from New Latin achaenium that which does not yawn or open, from _a- ¹ + Greek khainein to yawn

Example Sentences

Stem simple, 1–2° high; leaves nearly as in the next; pedicels jointed at or below the middle; valves of the fruiting calyx round-heart-shaped, thin, finely reticulated, naked, many times larger than the achene.

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Carl Linnaeus was not kidding when he chose the name Ambrosia for it: achene, its nutritious fruit, provides lots of calories to wildlife.

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The achene is a dry, one-seeded, indehiscent fruit, the pericarp of which is closely applied to the seed, but separable from it.

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Leontodon autumnalis L. Flowers yellow; achenes light brown, linear, with 5 broad, rounded ribs; achene 4–6.5 mm. long, straight or curved, the outer traversed, with low transverse ridges.

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The uppermost spike or spikes wholly staminate, the lower one or more pistillate; ovary and achene surrounded by a sac, the perigynium.

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Related Words

• kernel