Fruits and Berries 1

[gbaughma]

So, my wife and I were having a discussion about Fruit vs. Berries. She found this article on WikiPedia.

I always thought it was much more simple than that.

If you eat the seeds, it is a berry.

If you do not eat the seeds, it is a fruit.

Which means:
Tomatoes, bananas, strawberries; cucumbers; all berries.

Watermelon, apples, oranges, grapefruit; all fruit.

What are your thoughts? Had anyone else heard my definition before? Or am I just wacky and over-simplifying things (as usual)?



Just my 2¢

"What the captain doesn't realize is that we've secretly replaced his Dilithium Crystals with new Folger's Crystals."

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[philhege]

I've heard that if the seed is quasi-internal to the plant, it's fruit, and if it's quasi-external (like a strawberry's), it's a berry.

I've never heard a tomato called a berry, but I have heard it called a fruit.

Phil H.
Some Bank
-----------
Time's fun when you're having flies.

 

[Turkbear]

Hi,
From the Dictionary of Biology:

berry

A Dictionary of Biology
berry A fleshy fruit formed from either one carpel or from several fused together and containing many seeds. The fruit wall may have two or three layers but the inner layer is never hard and stony (as in some drupes). Examples of berries are grapes and tomatoes. A berry, such as a cucumber, that develops a hard outer rind is called a pepo. One that is segmented and has a leathery rind, such as a citrus fruit, is called a hesperidium. The rind contains oil glands and is lined by the white mesocarp, commonly called pith.

An dfor Fruit ( same source)

fruit

A Dictionary of Biology
fruit The structure formed from the ovary of a flower, usually after the ovules have been fertilized (see also parthenocarpy). It consists of the fruit wall (see pericarp) enclosing the seed(s). Other parts of the flower, such as the receptacle, may develop and contribute to the structure, resulting in a false fruit (see pseudocarp). The fruit may retain the seeds and be dispersed whole (an indehiscent fruit), or it may open (dehisce) to release the seeds (a dehiscent fruit). Fruits are divided into two main groups depending on whether the ovary wall remains dry or becomes fleshy (succulent). Succulent fruits are generally dispersed by animals and dry fruits by wind, water, or by some mechanical means. See illustration. See also composite fruit.

and ( for completeness) a composite fruit is:

composite fruit A type of fruit that develops from an inflorescence rather than from a single flower

All clear now







To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."

 

[gbaughma]

Clear as mud. Thanks for that. :S



Just my 2¢

"What the captain doesn't realize is that we've secretly replaced his Dilithium Crystals with new Folger's Crystals."

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[JBinQLD]

I heard that the carrot is a fruit because the portuguese make jam from them. Mind you, this was around the time that the EEC were trying to insist a banana was not a banana unless its curviture met specific criteria. Those wacky eurocrats.....

JB

 

[KenCunningham]

The bananas thing is another of the EU-myths. More here:

http://www.andrewduffmep.org.uk/page.php?myth-food

I want to be good, is that not enough?

 

[strongm]

No, all Mr Duff does is refute the idea that the EU had (blanket) banned curved bananas. However, EU bananas must be "free from malformation or abnormal curvature of the fingers". You can read this for yourself in Commission Regulation (EC) No 2257/94 of 16 September 1994 laying down quality standards for bananas Annex 1 (QUALITY STANDARDS FOR BANANAS), Part 2 (QUALITY), Section A (Minimum Requirements).

The crux of the matter, of course, is in what 'abnormal' might mean ...

 

[JBinQLD]

i know it wasn't complete myth cos i was in the uk reading the newspaper headlines at time. I must confess though i never saw the carrot one in person but i believe my source of the time, it really wouldn't suprise me.

 

[strongm]

The carrot one is basically that there is a directive about what products can be properly labelled as jam and/or marmalade - and for the purposes of that directive (and that directive only) carrots (and, in fact tomatoes, the edible part of rhubarb stalks, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons and water melons) "are considered fruit"

Here you go:Council Directive 2001/113/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to fruit jams, jellies and marmalades and sweetened chestnut purée intended for human consumption and locate Annex III.A.1

 

[tcsbiz]

A tomato is a berry! Does that mean that my morning Frankenberries are healthful?

 

[vanka25]

Turkbear,

While the definitions that you provide are accurate, I do not think they really help us in this regard. What you have provided is the biological definition of a fruit - with the berry described as a subset of the fruit family. Then the English language adds more confusion as the word fruit can refer to the structure formed from the ovary of a flower or what is generally thought of as fruits (contrasted with vegetables).

In Russian this confusion does not really exists:
[ul]
[li]P'lo'd - this usually refers to the biological definition of fruit, also used in a figurative way just as fruit is in English[/li]
[li]F'ru'kt - this refers to what the general populace would consider a fruit[/li]
[li]Ov'osh - a vegetable[/li]
[li]Ya'go'da - a berry[/li]
[/ul]

A bit of clarification I think is necessary; are we trying to determine what is a fruit or berry (or vegetable) in lay or scientific terms. The two do not necessarily line up; the tomato is classified as a fruit and the cucumber a berry (according to Wikipedia) but both are usually considered vegetables by most people.

 

[SamBones]

I know it's apropos of nothing here, but this reminds me of Bugs Bunny referring to Easter Eggs as "Technicolor Hen Fruit".

That still cracks me up.

 

[GSCaupling]

What about Barry Manilow?





[blue]...quickly runs from room, trying to recall that Shakespeare line about "suffering slings and arrows"[/blue]

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[red]I think of the word processor as the pen's e-quill.[/red]

 

[Welshbird]

What about 'im?

Fee

"The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea." Isak Dinesen

 

[SamBones]

What about Barry Manilow?

Why? Is he a fruit?

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

 

[flapeyre]

Barry Manilow is not a fruit, but a tool of law enforcement.

-- Francis
I'd like to change the world, but I can't find the source code.

 

[Turkbear]

Hi,
Yes, vanka25 , I realise that it was not actually a helpful answer ( hence the wink ).






To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."

 

[keenanbr]

Examples of berries are the banana, tomato, orange, lemon, grapefruit, watermelon, kiwifruit, cucumber, grape, passion fruit, papaya and pomegranate. The only berry fruits that end in "berry" are the gooseberry and the blueberry. (Forfeit: Blackberry, Strawberry, Raspberry)

 

[Opieo]

I think a few of you guys are berry fruity.

~
“Your request is not unlike your lower intestine: stinky, and loaded with danger.” — Ace Ventura.