Locule

A bi-locular tomato fruit.

A multi-locular tomato fruit.

A locule (pl. locules or loculi; from Latin loculus, meaning "little place") is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant or fungus).

In plants, the term locule usually refers to a chamber within an ovary (gynoecium or carpel of the flower and fruits). Depending on the number of locules in the ovary, carpels and fruits can be classified as uni-locular, bi-locular or multi-locular. The locules contain the ovules or seeds. The term may also refer to chambers within anthers containing pollen.

In the Loculoascomycetes, a group of sac fungi, locules are chambers similar to perithecia, but hollowed out from the host tissue rather than being a preformed structure. For this reason, a single locule is referred to as a pseudothecium. Locules do, however, still contain asci,which hold ascospores, as perithecia do.