[ey-keen, uh-keen] 
| any small, dry, hard, one-seeded, indehiscent fruit. |
a·chene also a·kene (ā-kēn')  (click for larger image in new window) n. A small, dry, indehiscent one-seeded fruit with a thin wall, as in the sunflower. [New Latin achēnium : Greek a-, without; see a-1 + Greek khainein, to yawn.] a·che'ni·al (-nē-əl) adj. |
achene
dry, one-seeded fruit lacking special seams that split to release the seed. The seed coat is attached to the thin, dry ovary wall (husk) by a short stalk, so that the seed is easily freed from the husk, as in buckwheat. The fruits of many plants in the buttercup family and the rose family are achenes.
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