As the fertilized eggs and surrounding tissues of the ovule are maturing into seeds, the ovary surrounding them develops into a protective container called a fruit.
What is a Fruit?
There is much confusion among people about the difference a fruit and a vegetable. In fact, the United States Supreme Court even got into the debate in 1893 legally defining the term "fruit " for commercial purposes.
In this article the word fruit will be defined botanically to mean a matured ovary containing one or more seeds. As strange as it may seem, the pod of a pea and the shell of a walnut are, in botanical jargon, fruits.
Fruits come in an amazing variety of sizes, shapes, and colors and classification systems of fruit types are detailed, technical and complex. However, for general use, fruits are usually classified into three large groups: (1) simple, (2) aggregate, and (3) multiple. This article investigates aggregate and multiple fruits.
Aggregate Fruits
An aggregate fruit is a cluster of tiny fleshy fruits that develop from a single flower. Examples are the raspberry, the blackberry, and the strawberry.
In the raspberry, the simple fruits develop into tiny drupes (drupelets), which adhere to one another but which separate as a unit from the dry, domed receptacle. The blackberry is like the raspberry except that the elongated receptacle is also fleshy and forms a part of the fruit.
In the strawberry, the numerous simple pistils of the flower develop into tiny achenes, which are seen on the outside of the fruit and which are commonly called the seeds. The edible part of the fruit is the receptacle. The strawberry is unique in that it wears its seeds on the outside of its fruits.
Multiple Fruits
A multiple fruit is formed from a cluster of tiny flowers grouped closely together rather than from a single flower as in aggregate fruits. A fruit is produced from each flower, and these fruits, at maturity, remain together in a single mass.
The pineapple is one of the best examples of a multiple fruit. The numerous (100 to 200) flowers are attached to a fleshy elongated axis, which is leafy at the top. The flowers are fused with each other, and all ripen together. Each of the units visible on the surface of the maturing fruit represents an individual flower.
Other examples of multiple fruits are the mulberry, Osage orange, and breadfruit.
Fruit or Vegetable?
Confusion clouds the use of the terms fruit and vegetable. Many fruits, such as the tomato, squash, cucumber, corn, and eggplant, are popularly called vegetables. From a botanical standpoint these are fruits and they may be distinguished from vegetables if the biological definition of a fruit is kept in mind.
A fruit always develops from a flower and is always composed of at least one ripened and mature ovary containing seeds. Any edible part of a plant that does not conform to this definition of a fruit should be classed as a vegetable.
The popular conception of a fruit as something eaten alone or used as a dessert is of no botanical concern. The fact that some fruits are used as vegetables in the kitchen is also of no consequence. Although, many fruits are popularly regarded as vegetables, few vegetables are considered to be fruits.
The next time you are enjoying eating a multiple or aggregate fruit, remember – you are not eating a fruit(singular) but fruits (plural).
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