What is a Fruit?
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate their seeds. They can be fleshy or dry ripened ovaries of a flowering plant, enclosing the seed or seeds. This includes a wide range of produce, such as apples, bananas, grapes, lemons, oranges, strawberries, bean pods, corn kernels, tomatoes, and wheat grains. In botanical usage, the term fruit also includes many structures that are not commonly called fruits in everyday language, such as nuts, bean pods, corn kernels, tomatoes, and wheat grains. In culinary language, a fruit is the sweet- or not sweet- (even sour-) tasting produce of a specific plant, while nuts are hard, oily, non-sweet plant produce in shells. Vegetables, on the other hand, are typically savory or non-sweet produce, but some may be sweet-tasting.
One of the main functions of a fruit is to spread the seeds and allow the plant to reproduce. Therefore, all flowering plants produce fruit, regardless of whether the fruit is edible, sweet, or soft. This means that, although we call peppers and cucumbers vegetables, they are technically fruits. Acorns, maple keys, and the outside of sunflower seeds are also considered fruits. Fruits are also important sources of dietary fiber, vitamins (especially vitamin C), and antioxidants. They can be processed into juices, jams, and jellies and preserved by dehydration, canning, fermentation, and pickling.
In summary, fruits are the mature and ripened ovaries of flowers, and they play a crucial role in the reproduction and propagation of flowering plants. They come in a wide variety of forms, including fleshy and dry fruits, and serve as important sources of nutrition and dietary components.
