Aggregate fruit

An aggregate fruit or etaerio (/ɛˈtɪərɪoʊ/) is a fruit that develops from the merger of several ovaries that were separate in a single flower. In contrast, a simple fruit develops from one ovary. In languages other than English, the meanings of aggregate and multiple fruit are reversed, so that aggregate fruits merge several flowers. The differences in meaning are due to a reversal in the terminology by John Lindley, which has been followed by most English-language authors.

Not all flowers with multiple ovaries form aggregate fruit; the ovaries of some flowers do not become tightly joined together to make a larger fruit. Aggregate fruits may also be accessory fruits, in which parts of the flower other than the ovary become fleshy and form part of the fruit.

The individual parts of an aggregate fruit come in many forms. Common examples are: