what makes something a fruit

Something is considered a fruit if it is the seed-bearing structure formed from the ovary of a flowering plant after flowering and fertilization. Fruits serve as the means by which angiosperms (flowering plants) disseminate their seeds. Botanically, a fruit develops from the mature ovary of a flower and usually contains seeds, although some fruits like bananas develop without fertilization (parthenocarpy). The ovary wall, called the pericarp, may become fleshy or hard, and the fruit's main purpose is seed protection and dispersal. In everyday language, fruits are often seed-associated, fleshy, and edible, but botanically, many things called vegetables (like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers) are technically fruits because they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a flower.