Some Allium neapolitanum have volunteered themselves in the backyard. They are quite pretty, and I am happy to let them flourish. Yesterday I collected and cleaned their seed, and noticed that each wrikly black body had a fleshy attachment. That started me thinking: I have seen informed people write elaisome and elaiosome. Why the two spellings, and is one preferred? Also, what is the technical difference between an elaiosome and an aril? I know that elaiosome means 'oily body' and is usually an oily or fatty body attached to a seed, and that an aril is usually fleshy, but it need not be so, I mean, the arils of pomegranates are practically pure juice.