It turns out berry is actually a botanical term, not a common English one. Blackberries, mulberries, and raspberries are not berries at all, but bananas, pumpkins, avocados and cucumbers are. So what makes a berry?
Well, a berry has seeds and pulp (properly called “pericarp”) that develop from the ovary of a flower. The pericarp of all fruit is actually subdivided into 3 layers. The exocarp is the skin of the fruit, and in berries it’s often eaten (like in grapes) but not always (like in bananas). The mesocarp is the part of the fruit we usually eat, like the white yummy part of an apple, or the bulk of a plum, though in citrus fruits the mesocarp is actually the white, sort of inner-peel that we remove. Last is the endocarp, which is the closest layer that envelopes the seeds. In stone fruits, it’s the stone. In many fruits, it’s actually a membrane that we don’t really notice, often because it’s been bred to be thin, like in bananas. In citrus, the endocarp is actually the membrane that holds the juicy parts of the fruit, that is, the part you don’t want to pierce unless you want to get sticky.
If most fruit have these 3 layers, then why are berries special? It’s mostly due to the nature of their endocarps. Although not exactly quantified, berries generally have thin endocarps and fleshy (not dry) pericarps. Of course, these rules aren’t rigid, as watermelons and citrus fruits are berries, and neither are thought to have especially thin skins.
So if your favourite fruit isn’t a berry, what might it be? If it has a thick, hard endocarp, it’s probably a drupe, a fancy term for a stone fruit. This group encompasses apricots, mangoes, cherries, olives, avocados, dates and most nuts. Basically, if you wouldn’t want to just bite into it, it’s probably a drupe.
If your snack has a core, it’s probably a pome. From its name you probably guessed that this bunch includes apples, as well as pears. If you’re a bit more adventurous, your favourite breakfast might include a multiple fruit, which is a fruit that is actually make up of a cluster of fruiting bodies. Some examples of this are pineapple, figs and mulberries. These fruits turn out to be part of a greater group called accessory fruits, in which the fruit (or many fruiting bodies) is not derived from the ovary, but some other part of the developing plant. This is where the “not-a-berry” strawberry falls.
Finally, if you, like me, consider your favourite fruit to be a raspberry or blackberry, then you love aggregate fruits. These are formed by many ovaries merging to become one flower, and most are also accessory fruits. Botany is weird, isn’t it?
It is classified as a berry, which is a type of fruit that develops from a single ovary and has multiple seeds. Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in the world, and they are grown in tropical regions all over the globe.
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It turns out berry is actually a botanical term, not a common English one. Blackberries, mulberries, and raspberries are not berries at all, but bananas, pumpkins, avocados and cucumbers are. So what makes a berry?
Well, a berry has seeds and pulp (properly called “pericarp”) that develop from the ovary of a flower. The pericarp of all fruit is actually subdivided into 3 layers. The exocarp is the skin of the fruit, and in berries it’s often eaten (like in grapes) but not always (like in bananas). The mesocarp is the part of the fruit we usually eat, like the white yummy part of an apple, or the bulk of a plum, though in citrus fruits the mesocarp is actually the white, sort of inner-peel that we remove. Last is the endocarp, which is the closest layer that envelopes the seeds. In stone fruits, it’s the stone. In many fruits, it’s actually a membrane that we don’t really notice, often because it’s been bred to be thin, like in bananas. In citrus, the endocarp is actually the membrane that holds the juicy parts of the fruit, that is, the part you don’t want to pierce unless you want to get sticky.
If most fruit have these 3 layers, then why are berries special? It’s mostly due to the nature of their endocarps. Although not exactly quantified, berries generally have thin endocarps and fleshy (not dry) pericarps. Of course, these rules aren’t rigid, as watermelons and citrus fruits are berries, and neither are thought to have especially thin skins.
So if your favourite fruit isn’t a berry, what might it be? If it has a thick, hard endocarp, it’s probably a drupe, a fancy term for a stone fruit. This group encompasses apricots, mangoes, cherries, olives, avocados, dates and most nuts. Basically, if you wouldn’t want to just bite into it, it’s probably a drupe.
If your snack has a core, it’s probably a pome. From its name you probably guessed that this bunch includes apples, as well as pears. If you’re a bit more adventurous, your favourite breakfast might include a multiple fruit, which is a fruit that is actually make up of a cluster of fruiting bodies. Some examples of this are pineapple, figs and mulberries. These fruits turn out to be part of a greater group called accessory fruits, in which the fruit (or many fruiting bodies) is not derived from the ovary, but some other part of the developing plant. This is where the “not-a-berry” strawberry falls.
Finally, if you, like me, consider your favourite fruit to be a raspberry or blackberry, then you love aggregate fruits. These are formed by many ovaries merging to become one flower, and most are also accessory fruits. Botany is weird, isn’t it?
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FAQ
Are bananas a fruit or a nut?
What is a banana classified as?
Are bananas a seed or not?
Why is a strawberry not a berry?
Is a banana a nut?
Banana usually goes well with nuts, as in this delicious banana-nut bread. Nevertheless, this does not qualify a banana as a nut. Bananas are fruits, but the plants they develop on are herbaceous or non-woody. As a result, banana plants are theoretically herbs but have no connection to floor or tree nuts.
If the banana itself is dark brown, is it still edible?
Dark brown skin of a banana shows that it is mature. However, make sure that the inside part of the banana is not also dark brown. If this is the case, you should not consume it as it is already rotten.
Are banana plants a plant or a nut?
As a result, banana plants are theoretically herbs but have no connection to floor or tree nuts. While supermarket bananas are seedless, wild bananas and variations used as parent plants for seedless crop species produce small black seeds inside the pulpy fruit. This trait is not the case with nuts, where the flesh of the nut is the meristem.
Are bananas a fruit?
Well, they are and they aren’t. Bananas are both a fruit and not a fruit. While the banana plant is colloquially called a banana tree, it’s actually an herb distantly related to ginger, since the plant has a succulent tree stem, instead of a wood one. The yellow thing you peel and eat is, in fact, a fruit because it contains the seeds of the plant.