indehiscent

adj. Botany
Not splitting open at maturity: indehiscent fruit.

indehiscence in'de·his'cence n.

(in-di-HIS-uhnt)

adjective
Not bursting open at maturity.

Etymology
When a peapod is ripe after a long wait and bursts open, it's yawning, etymologically speaking. The term indehiscent comes from Latin dehiscere (to split open), from hiscere (to gape, yawn), from Latin hiare (to yawn). Another term that derives from the same root is hiatus

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Usage
"Garrison Keillor: Rhubarb is a vegetable, no matter what the government says: a member of the buckwheat family of herbaceous plants including buckwheat, dock, and smartweed, which are characterized by having swollen joints, simple leaves, small petalless flowers, and small, dry, indehiscent fruit. Indehiscent means 'not dehiscent', not opening at maturity to release the seed. So 'indehiscent' means 'hard, dry, holding onto the seed', which actually describes Norwegians quite well. Most Norwegians consider dehiscence to be indecent. They hold the seed in. But rhubarb pie comes along in the spring, when we're half crazed from five months of winter -- it's the first fresh vegetable we get, and it makes us dehisce." — Carol Stocker; Rediscovering Rhubarb; Boston Globe; May 16, 1996.

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Remaining persistently closed.

A term used to describe fruits that do not open or split to release their seeds, or anthers that do not open to discharge pollen. The hazelnut is an example of an indehiscent fruit.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The adjective has one meaning:

Meaning #1: (of e.g. fruits) not opening spontaneously at maturity to release seeds
  Antonym: dehiscent (meaning #1)

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