:
For other uses, see Berry (disambiguation).
, persimmon, red gooseberries, red currants (top)]]
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors. The seeds are usually embedded in the flesh of the ovary. A plant that bears berries is said to be bacciferous. Many species of plants produce fruit that are similar to berries, but not actually berries, and these are said to be baccate.
In everyday English, "berry" is a term for any small edible fruit. These "berries" are usually juicy, round or semi-oblong, brightly coloured, sweet or sour, and do not have a stone or pit, although many seeds may be present.
Many berries, such as the tomato, are edible, but others in the same family, such as the fruits of the deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) and the fruits of the potato (Solanum tuberosum) are poisonous to humans. Some berries, such as Capsicum, have space rather than pulp around their seeds.
Botanical berries
composed of many
drupelets, and strawberries are aggregate
accessory fruit.]]
In
botanical language, a berry is a simple fruit having
seeds and pulp produced from a single
ovary; the ovary can be
inferior or
superior.
Examples of botanical berries include:
Modified berries
The fruit of
citrus, such as the
orange,
kumquat and
lemon, is a berry with a thick rind and a very juicy interior that is given the special name
hesperidium.
Berries which develop from an inferior ovary are sometimes termed epigynous berries or false berries, as opposed to true berries which develop from a superior ovary. In so-called epigynous berries, the berry includes tissue derived from parts of the flower besides the ovary. The floral tube, formed from the basal part of the sepals, petals and stamens can become fleshy at maturity and is united with the ovary to form the fruit. Common fruits that are sometimes classified as epigynous berries include bananas, members of the genus Vaccinium (e.g., cranberries and blueberries), and members of the family Cucurbitaceae (e.g., cucumbers, melons and squash).
Another specialized term is also used for Cucurbitaceae fruits, which are modified to have a hard outer rind. Berries with a hard outer rind are given the special name pepo. While pepos are most common in the Cucurbitaceae, the fruits of Passiflora and Carica are sometimes also considered pepos.
Not a botanical berry
Many fruits commonly referred to as berries are not actual berries by the scientific definition, but fall into one of these categories:
Drupes
Drupes are fleshy fruits produced from a (usually) single-seeded ovary with a hard stony layer (called the
endocarp) surrounding the seed.
Plum
Peach
Hackberry (Celtis spp.; Cannabaceae)
Bayberry
Other drupe-like fruits with a single seed, that lack the stony endocarp include:
Avocado (Persea americana)
Sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides; Elaeagnaceae) A single seed inside a fleshy fruit
Pomes
The
pome fruits produced by plants in subtribe Pyrinae of family
Rosaceae, such as apples and pears, have a structure (the core) that clearly separates the seeds from the ovary tissue. However, some of the smaller pomes are sometimes referred to as berries. Bright red haws from
Crataegus are sometimes called hawberries.
Amelanchier pomes become so soft at maturity that they resemble a
blueberry and are known as Juneberries or Saskatoon berries.
Compound fruits
Compound fruits are groups or aggregates of multiple parts, and include:
Aggregate fruits, which contain seeds from different ovaries of a single flower. Examples include blackberry and raspberry
Multiple fruits, include the fruits of multiple flowers that are merged or packed closely together. The
mulberry is a berry-like example of a multiple fruit; it develops from a cluster of tiny separate flowers that become compressed as they develop into fruit.
Accessory fruits
In
accessory fruits, the edible part is not generated by the ovary. Berry-like examples include:
Strawberry - the aggregate of seed-like achenes is actually the "fruit", derived from an aggregate of ovaries, and the fleshy part develops from the receptacle.
Gurbir, Duchesnea indica - structured just like a strawberry
Sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera; Polygonaceae) - the fruit is a dry capsule surrounded by fleshy calyx
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) - the fruit is a dry capsule surrounded by fleshy calyx
Color and potential health benefits
in these (mostly inedible) wild berries]]
By contrasting in color with their background, berries are more attractive to animals that eat them, and they therefore aid in the
dispersal of the plants' seeds.
Berry colors are due to natural plant pigments, many of which are polyphenols, such as the flavonoids, anthocyanins, and tannins, localized mainly in berry skins and seeds. Berry pigments are usually antioxidants in vitro and thus have oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) that is high among plant foods. Together with good nutrient content, ORAC derived in the laboratory distinguishes several berries within a new category of functional foods called "superfruits". However, there is no physiological evidence established to date that berry polyphenols have actual antioxidant value within the human body, and it remains invalid to claim polyphenols have antioxidant health value on product labels in the United States and Europe.
See also
List of culinary fruits
List of inedible fruits
Accessory fruit
Aggregate fruit
Multiple fruit
Drupe
Wheatberry
Notes
External links
The National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens – Description of berries
Encarta.msn.com (Archived 2009-10-31) – Differentiation between true berries, pepos, and hesperidia
United States National Berry Crops Initiative
Berry Health Benefits Network – Scientists working on the health properties of berries
Category:Plant morphology
