A schizocarp is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps.
There are different definitions:
* Any dry fruit composed of multiple carpels that separate.
: Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more seeds (the mericarps of ''
Abutilon
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsIndehiscent (remaining closed), such as in the
carrot
The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', na ...
Dehiscent
Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that op ...
(splitting open to release the seed), for example members of the genus ''
Geranium
''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly i ...
''. This is similar to what happens with a capsule, but with an extra stage. (In ''Abutilon'', the mericarp is sometimes only partially dehiscent and does not release the seed.)
* Any fruit that separates into indehiscent one-seeded segments, such as a loment, '' Malva'', '' Malvastrum'', and '' Sida''.