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In [[botany]], a '''fruit''' is a plant structure that contains the plant's [[seed]]s. 

To a [[botanist]], the word ''fruit'' is used only if it comes from the part of the [[flower]] which was an [[ovary (botany)|ovary]].<ref>Mauseth, James D. 2003. ''Botany: an introduction to plant biology''. Jones & Bartlett, Boston.</ref> It is an extra layer round the [[seed]]s, which may or may not be fleshy. However, even in the field of botany, there is no general agreement on how fruits should be classified. Many do have extra layers from other parts of the flower.<ref>Schlegel, Rolf 2003. ''Encyclopedic dictionary of plant breeding and related subjects''. Haworth Press. {{ISBN|1-56022-950-0}}.</ref>
[[File:Mature flower diagram.svg|thumb|center|400px|Diagram of flower, cut open, showing the [[ovary (botany)|ovary]]]]

In general speech, and especially in [[cooking]], fruits are a [[Taste#Sweetness|sweet]] product, and many [[Botany|botanical]] fruits are known as [[vegetable]]s. This is how ordinary [[people]] use the words. On this page, we describe what [[botanist]]s call a fruit.

The fleshy part of a fruit is called the mesocarp. It is between the fruit's skin (exocarp) and the seeds. The white part of an [[apple]], for example, is the "fleshy" part of the apple. Usually, when we eat a fruit, we eat the "fleshy" part.

==Types of fruits==
[[File:Grapes.jpg|thumb|left|140px|alt=Grapes hanging on a branch|Diagram of a type of berry]]

===Berry===
If the entire fruit is fleshy, except for maybe a thin skin, the fruit is called a [[berry]]. A berry might contain one seed or many. [[Grape]]s, [[avocado]]s, and [[blueberry|blueberries]] are [[Berry|berries]]. They all have a thin [[skin]], but most of the fruit is fleshy. Don't get confused by the name of fruits like [[Strawberry|strawberries]], because actually they are ''not'' berries. The seeds are on the outside: on a real berry, the seed or seeds are ''inside'' the fruit.

===Pepo===
A pepo (pronounced ''pee' po'') is a [[wikt:modify|modified]] berry. Its skin is hard and thick and is usually called a "rind". [[Pumpkin]]s and [[watermelon]]s, for instance, are pepos.

===Hesperidium===
A hesperidium is another modified berry. It has a [[leather]]y skin that is not as hard as the skin of a pepo. All [[citrus]] fruit like [[Orange (fruit)|oranges]] and [[lemon]] are hesperidiums.[[File:Citrus fruits.jpg|thumb|170px|Citrus fruits are hesperidiums]]

===Pome===
[[File:PearPhoto.jpg|thumb|left|120px|Pears have a core surrounded by flesh, meaning pears are pomes]]

A [[pome]] (pohm) is a fruit that has a [[wikt:core|core]] surrounded by fleshy [[Tissue (biology)|tissue]] that one can eat. The core is usually not eaten. Berries are different - the seeds are ''inside'' the fleshy part, not separated from it by a core. [[Apple]]s and [[pear]]s are pomes.

===Drupe===
[[File:Autumn Red peaches.jpg|thumb|170px|The big hard "pit" in the middle of this peach has a seed inside it]]

[[Stone fruit|Drupes]] are also called [[stone fruit]]. A drupe is a fleshy fruit with a hard stone around the seed. We usually call this 'stone' the 'pit' of the fruit. [[Peach]]es and [[Olive (fruit)|olives]] are drupes. Actually, the [[almond]] fruit is a drupe, too, though we eat the seed that is inside the 'pit' of the [[almond]] fruit.

==Botanical fruits==
Since fruits are produced from fertilised ovaries in [[flower]]s, only [[flowering plant]]s produce fruits. Fruits are an [[evolution]]ary 'invention' which help [[seed]]s get [[wikt:dispersal|dispersed]] by animals.

The botanical term includes many that are not 'fruits' in the common sense of the term. such as the vegetables [[Squash (plant)|squash]], [[pumpkin]]s, [[cucumber]]s, [[tomato]], [[pea]]s, [[bean]]s, [[corn]], [[eggplant]], and [[Capsicum|bell]] [[Capsicum|pepper]] and some spices, such as [[allspice]] and [[Chili pepper|chili]]

.

===Accessory fruits===
[[File:FraiseFruitPhoto.jpg|right|thumb|A [[Strawberry]] fruit: the 'seeds' are each derived from a [[pistil]] of the flower.]]
An accessory fruit or false fruit (pseudocarp) is a fruit in which some of the flesh is derived not from the ovary but from some adjacent tissue.

A [[fig]] is a type of accessory fruit called a syconium. [[Pome]]s, such as [[apple]]s and [[pear]]s, are also accessory fruits: the core is the true fruit.<ref>Esau K. 1977. ''Anatomy of seed plants''. Wiley New York.</ref>

==Non-botanical fruits==
Strictly speaking, these are not botanical fruits: 
* any produced by non-flowering plants, like [[juniper]] berries, which are the seed-containing female cones of conifers.
* fleshy fruit-like growths that develop from other plant tissues (like [[rhubarb]]).
[[File:vaccinium.jpg|thumb|Berries which are simple fleshy fruit. From top right: [[Cranberry|cranberries]], [[lingonberries]], [[blueberries]] red [[Huckleberry|huckleberries]]]]
==Area of agreement==
These are fruits which you can buy in shops, and which are also acceptable as botanical fruits:
* [[berry fruits]]: [[redcurrant]], [[gooseberry]], [[cranberry]], [[blueberry]] Also, but not commonly known as berry fruits, are [[tomato]], [[avocado]], [[banana]].
* [[false berries]]: [[raspberry]], [[strawberry]], [[blackberry]]: they are aggregate fruits (see below). The [[yew]] berry is not a fruit at all because the yew is a [[conifer]].<ref>Note: the seed in a yew "berry" is very poisonous.</ref>
* [[stone fruit]]s or drupes: [[plum]], [[cherry]], [[peach]], [[apricot]], [[Olive (fruit)|olive]].
* [[citrus|citrus fruits]], like [[orange (fruit)|oranges]], [[grapefruit]]s, and [[tangerine]]s.
* [[aggregate fruit]]s: [[raspberry|raspberries]], [[blackberry|blackberries]].
* [[multiple fruit]]s: [[pineapple]]s, [[fig]]s.

Many fruits come from [[tree]]s or [[shrub|bushes]]. For plants, fruits are a means of dispersal, usually by [[animal]]s. When the fruit is eaten, the seed(s) are not digested, and get [[excretion|excreted]]. Where fruits have big stones, just the soft parts are eaten. 

Most fruits we eat contain a lot of [[water]] and [[Nature|natural]] [[sugar]]s, and many are high in [[Vitamin C]]. They have a large amount of [[dietary fibre]]. Fruits are usually low in [[protein]] and [[fat]] content, but avocados and some nuts are exceptions to this. Not only [[human]]s, but our closest living relatives ([[primate]]s) are keen fruit-eaters. So are many other groups of [[herbivorous]] [[mammal]]s and many [[bird]]s.<ref>Lewis, Robert A. 2002. ''CRC dictionary of agricultural sciences''. CRC Press. {{ISBN|0-8493-2327-4}}</ref>

==Seedless fruits==
Seedlessness is an important feature of some fruits of commerce. Commercial bananas, pineapple, and [[watermelon]]s are examples of seedless fruits. Some [[citrus]] fruits, especially oranges, satsumas, mandarin oranges, and [[grapefruit]] are valued for their seedlessness.

Seedless bananas and grapes are [[ploidy|triploids]], and seedlessness results from the abortion of the [[embryo]]nic plant which is produced by fertilisation. The method requires normal pollination and fertilisation.<ref>Spiegel-Roy P. Goldschmidt E.E. 1996. ''The biology of citrus''. Cambridge. {{ISBN|0-521-33321-0}} p87–88</ref>

==Related pages==
* [[List of fruit]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Fruits}}

[[Category:Basic English 850 words]]
[[Category:Fruits| ]]
[[Category:Plant anatomy]]