Stapeliopsis saxatilis fruit follicles

The fruit follicles of Stapeliopsis saxatilis grow in about equal pairs on long purple stalks. These fruits are long, thin and cylindrical, tapering to narrowly conical tips. The smooth surfaces in picture are purple-brown with faint, slightly darker blotches.

A follicle is a fruit type that is soon dry and comprises one locule formed from one carpel. It contains two or more seeds, in the case of the Apocynaceae family to which Stapeliopsis belongs, usually many seeds, each with a silky hair attachment facilitating flight in dispersal. The seeds are released by the splitting of a side when the fruit is ripe (White and Sloane, 1937; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000).