For general questions about plant fruits.
A 'fruit' is the structure of the plant that contains the seeds, and develops from the flower's ovaries. This botanical definition would include bean pods, corn kernels, wheat grains,etc but exclude juniper berries (which are female conifer cones). In non-technical and culinary usage, a fruit is a fleshy seed-associated structure that is sweet in its raw state.
Fruit can come in various forms. The most common divisions are:
- Simple Fruit. Forms from an ovary in one flower with only one pistil (eg. bean, most nuts, red current, peach, etc)
- Aggregate Fruit. Multiple carpels, not joined together producing a group of fruitlets. (eg. raspberry, blackberry)
- Multiple Fruit. Formed from a cluster of flowers which mature as a single mass. (e.g. pineapple, mulberry)
Use this tag for more general questions about fruit. In most cases, a more specific tag referring to the plant in question, is more appropriate.
