n.
In botany, a dry fruit that opens when ripe.
It splits from top to bottom into separate segments known as valves, as in the iris , or forms pores at the top (e.g., poppy ), or splits around the circumference, with the top falling off (e.g., pigweed and plantain ). The spore-forming organ (see sporophyte ) of liverworts and mosses is also called a capsule.