fruits and nuts

[Donna I. Ford-Werntz]

>How is a walnut not a nut?  I was taught--and teach--that the outer layer of a 
>walnut is fused bracts, not pericarp, and that a walnut *is* a nut...
I was taught that the walnut is a drupe, but learned from Kramer's post,
also, that the origin of the husk is controversial, at least.  Is the
coconut OK as a drupe, or is it, too, of nebulous certainty?  And then we
could debate the grouping of avocado (which I teach as a one-seeded berry
rather than a drupe)!

Donna I. Ford-Werntz     West Virginia Univ.                                    
Herbarium Curator (WVA)  Box 6057                                               
Asst. Prof. Biol.        Morgantown, WV 26506                                   
425 Brooks Hall          (304)293-5201 X2549                                    
email: diford at wvu.edu    fax: (304)293-6363                                     
Web site at http://www.as.wvu.edu/biology/