A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible
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 (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present.
Common examples are
strawberries
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...
,
raspberries
The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...
,
blueberries
Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...
,
blackberries
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
,
red currants,
white currant
The white currant or whitecurrant is a group of cultivars of the red currant (''Ribes rubrum''), a species of flowering plant in the family Grossulariaceae, native to Europe.
It is sometimes mislabelled as '' Ribes glandulosum'',Darina Allen ...
s and
blackcurrant
The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, whe ...
s. In Britain, soft fruit is a
horticultural
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
term for such fruits.
In common usage, the term "berry" differs from the scientific or
botanical definition of 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 (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
produced from the
ovary
The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...
of a single flower in which the outer layer of the ovary wall develops into an edible fleshy portion (
pericarp
Fruit anatomy is the plant anatomy of the internal structure of fruit. Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Aggre ...
). The botanical definition includes many fruits that are not commonly known or referred to as berries, such as
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
s,
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
es,
cucumber
Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables. s,
eggplant
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mos ...
s,
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
s, and
chili peppers
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
. Fruits commonly considered berries but excluded by the botanical definition include strawberries, raspberries, and
blackberries
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
, which are
aggregate fruit A raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle larva) is an aggregate fruit, an aggregate of drupe">raspberry_beetle.html" ;"title="raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle">raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle larva) is an aggre ...
s and
mulberries
''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
, which are
multiple fruit
Multi-fruits, also called collective fruits, are fruiting bodies formed from a cluster of flowers, the ''inflorescence''. Each flower in the inflorescence produces a fruit, but these mature into a single mass. After flowering the mass is called a ...
s.
Watermelons
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...
and
pumpkins
A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...
are giant berries that fall into the category "
pepos". A plant bearing berries is said to be ''bacciferous'' or ''baccate''.
Berries are eaten worldwide and often used in
jam
Jam is a type of fruit preserve.
Jam or Jammed may also refer to:
Other common meanings
* A firearm malfunction
* Block signals
** Radio jamming
** Radar jamming and deception
** Mobile phone jammer
** Echolocation jamming
Arts and entertai ...
s,
preserves
Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread.
There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the method ...
,
cake
Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...
s, or
pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...
s. Some berries are commercially important. The berry industry varies from country to country as do types of berries cultivated or growing in the wild. Some berries such as raspberries and strawberries have been bred for hundreds of years and are distinct from their wild counterparts, while other berries, such as
lingonberries
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...
and
cloudberries
''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackb ...
, grow almost exclusively in the wild.
While many berries are edible, some are
poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
ous to humans, such as
deadly nightshade
''Atropa belladonna'', commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a toxic perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae, which also includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant (aubergine). It is native to Europe, North ...
and
pokeweed
''Phytolacca americana'', also known as American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, dragonberries, and inkberry, is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae. This pokeweed grows . It has simple leaves on green ...
. Others, such as the
white mulberry
''Morus alba'', known as white mulberry, common mulberry and silkworm mulberry, is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized mulberry tree which grows to tall. It is generally a short-lived tree with a lifespan comparable to that of humans, althoug ...
,
red mulberry
''Morus rubra'', commonly known as the red mulberry, is a species of mulberry native to eastern and central North America. It is found from Ontario, Minnesota, and Vermont south to southern Florida, and west as far as southeastern South Dakota, ...
, and
elderberry
''Sambucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to ge ...
, are poisonous when
unripe
Ripening is a process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable. In general, fruit becomes sweeter, less green, and softer as it ripens. Even though the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens, the higher acidity level does not make the ...
, but are edible when ripe.
History
![Blackthorn - Balatonkenese](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Blackthorn_-_Balatonkenese.JPG)
Berries have been valuable as a food source for humans since before the start of agriculture, and remain among the primary food sources of other primates. They were a seasonal staple for early hunter-gatherers for thousands of years, and wild berry gathering remains a popular activity in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
today. In time, humans learned to store berries so that they could be used in the winter. They may be made into
fruit preserves
Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread.
There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the method ...
, and among Native Americans, mixed with meat and fats as
pemmican
Pemmican (also pemican in older sources) is a mixture of tallow, dried meat, and sometimes dried berries. A calorie-rich food, it can be used as a key component in prepared meals or eaten raw. Historically, it was an important part of indigenous ...
.
Berries also began to be cultivated in Europe and other countries. Some species of blackberries and raspberries of the genus ''
Rubus
''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species.
Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these ...
'' have been cultivated since the 17th century, while smooth-skinned blueberries and cranberries of the genus ''
Vaccinium
''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whort ...
'' have been cultivated in the United States for over a century.
In Japan, between the 10th and 18th centuries, the terms and referred to many berry crops. The most widely cultivated berry of modern times, however, is the strawberry, which is produced globally at twice the amount of all other berry crops combined.
The strawberry was mentioned by ancient Romans, who thought it had medicinal properties, but it was then not a staple of agriculture.
Woodland strawberries began to be grown in French gardens in the 14th century. The
musk strawberry
The musk strawberry or hautbois strawberry (''Fragaria moschata''), is a species of strawberry native to Europe. Its French name ''hautbois'' strawberry may be anglicised as hautboy strawberry. The plants are hardy and can survive in many weather ...
(''F. moschata''), also known as the hautbois strawberry, began to be grown in European gardens in the late 16th century. Later, the
Virginia strawberry
''Fragaria virginiana'', known as Virginia strawberry, wild strawberry, common strawberry, or mountain strawberry, is a North American strawberry that grows across much of the United States and southern Canada. It is one of the two species of Fra ...
was grown in Europe and the United States. The most commonly consumed strawberry, the
garden strawberry
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus ''Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely app ...
(''F. ananassa''), is an accidental hybrid of the Virginia strawberry and a Chilean variety ''
Fragaria chiloensis
''Fragaria chiloensis'', the beach strawberry, Chilean strawberry, or coastal strawberry, is one of two species of wild strawberry that were hybridized to create the modern garden strawberry (''F. × ananassa''). It is native to the Pacific Oce ...
''. It was first noted by a French gardener around the mid 18th century that, when ''F. moschata'' and ''F. virginiana'' were planted in between rows of ''F. chiloensis'', the Chilean strawberry would bear abundant and unusually large fruits. Soon after,
Antoine Nicolas Duchesne
Antoine Nicolas Duchesne (born 7 October 1747 Versailles; died 18 February 1827 Paris) was a French botanist known for his keen observation of variation within species, and for demonstrating that species are not immutable, because mutations can occ ...
began to study the
breeding of strawberries
The breeding of strawberries started with the selection and cultivation of European strawberry species in western Europe in the 15th century while a similar discovery and cultivation occurred in Chile. The most commonly consumed strawberry species ...
and made several discoveries crucial to the science of plant breeding, such as the sexual reproduction of strawberry.
Later, in the early 1800s, English breeders of strawberry made varieties of ''F. ananassa'' which were important in strawberry breeding in Europe, and hundreds of cultivars have since been produced through the breeding of strawberries.
Etymology
The
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
word berie ("berry, grape,") comes from
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
*basjom (source also of Old Norse ber, Middle Dutch bere, German Beere "berry;" Old Saxon winberi, Gothic weinabasi "grape"), which is of unknown origin. This and apple are the only native fruit names.
Botanical definition
In
botanical
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
terminology, a berry is a simple fruit with
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s and pulp produced from the
ovary
The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...
of a single flower. It is fleshy throughout, except for the seeds. It does not have a special "line of weakness" along which it splits to release the seeds when ripe (i.e. it is
indehiscent
Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that op ...
). A berry may develop from an ovary with one or more
carpels
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
(the female reproductive structures of a flower). The seeds are usually embedded in the fleshy interior of the ovary, but there are some non-fleshy examples such as
peppers
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
, with air rather than pulp around their seeds. The differences between the everyday and botanical uses of "berry" results in three categories: those fruits that are berries under both definitions; those fruits that are botanical berries but not commonly known as berries; and those parts of plants commonly known as berries that are not botanical berries, and may not even be fruits.
Berries under both definitions include
blueberries
Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...
,
cranberries
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry m ...
,
lingonberries
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...
, and the fruits of many other members of the
heather family, as well as
gooseberries
Gooseberry ( or (American and northern British) or (southern British)) is a common name for many species of ''Ribes'' (which also includes currants), as well as a large number of plants of similar appearance. The berries of those in the genu ...
,
goji berries
Goji, goji berry, or wolfberry () is the fruit of either ''Lycium barbarum'' or ''Lycium chinense'', two closely related species of boxthorn in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. ''L. barbarum'' and ''L. chinense'' fruits are simil ...
and
elderberries
''Sambucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to ge ...
. The fruits of some "currants" (''
Ribes
''Ribes'' is a genus of about 200 known species of flowering plants, most of them native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The various species are known as currants or gooseberries, and some are cultivated for their edible f ...
'' species), such as
blackcurrant
The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, whe ...
s,
red currant Red currant is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
* ''Ribes rubrum'', a shrub native to western Europe and widely cultivated
* ''Ribes sanguineum
''Ribes sanguineum'', the flowering currant, redflower currant, red-flowering curra ...
s and
white currant
The white currant or whitecurrant is a group of cultivars of the red currant (''Ribes rubrum''), a species of flowering plant in the family Grossulariaceae, native to Europe.
It is sometimes mislabelled as '' Ribes glandulosum'',Darina Allen ...
s, are botanical berries, and are treated as horticultural berries (or as soft fruit in the UK), even though their most commonly used names do not include the word "berry".
Botanical berries not commonly known as berries include
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
s,
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
es,
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
s,
eggplant
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mos ...
s (aubergines),
persimmon
The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus ''Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-pers ...
s,
watermelon
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...
s, and
pumpkin
A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...
s.
There are several different kinds of fruits which are commonly called berries, but are not botanical berries.
Blackberries
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
,
raspberries
The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...
, and
strawberries
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...
are kinds of
aggregate fruit A raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle larva) is an aggregate fruit, an aggregate of drupe">raspberry_beetle.html" ;"title="raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle">raspberry fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle larva) is an aggre ...
;
they contain seeds from different ovaries of a single flower. In aggregate fruits like blackberries, the individual "fruitlets" making up the fruit can be clearly seen. The fruits of
blackthorn
''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...
may be called "sloe berries", but botanically are small
stone fruits
In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...
or drupes, like
plum
A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes.
History
Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
s or
apricot
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''.
Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
s.
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
s and
yews
Yew is a common name given to various species of trees.
It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'':
* European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'')
* Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus b ...
are commonly said to have berries, but these differ from botanical berries and are instead highly modified seed-bearing
cones
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
. In
juniper berries
A juniper berry is the female seed cone produced by the various species of junipers. It is not a true berry, but a cone with unusually fleshy and merged scales, which gives it a berry-like appearance. The cones from a handful of species, especial ...
, used to flavour
gin
Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis'').
Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...
, the cone scales, which are hard and woody in most conifers, are instead soft and fleshy when ripe. The bright red berries of yews consist of a fleshy outgrowth (
aril
An aril (pronounced ), also called an arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode or false aril is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the see ...
) almost enclosing the poisonous seed.
Cultivation
Strawberries have been grown in gardens in Europe since the 14th century.
Blueberries
Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...
were domesticated starting in 1911, with the first commercial crop in 1916.
Huckleberries
Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho.
Nomenclature
The name 'huckleberry' is a Nort ...
of all varieties are not fully domesticated, but domestication was attempted from 1994 to 2010 for the economically significant western huckleberry. Many other varieties of ''
Vaccinium
''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whort ...
'' are likewise not domesticated, with some being of commercial importance.
Agricultural methods
Like most other food crops, berries are commercially grown, with both conventional pest management and
integrated pest management
Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as integrated pest control (IPC) is a broad-based approach that integrates both chemical and non-chemical practices for economic control of pests. IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the econ ...
(IPM) practices.
Organically certified berries are becoming more widely available.
:5
Many soft fruit berries require a period of temperatures between for breaking dormancy. In general, strawberries require 200–300 hours, blueberries 650–850 hours, blackberries 700 hours, raspberries 800–1700 hours, currants and gooseberries 800–1500 hours, and cranberries 2000 hours.
However, too low a temperature will kill the crops: blueberries do not tolerate temperatures below , raspberries, depending on variety, may tolerate as low as , and blackberries are injured below .
Spring frosts are, however, much more damaging to berry crops than low winter temperatures. Sites with moderate slopes (3–5%), facing north or east, in the northern hemisphere, near large bodies of water, which regulate spring temperature, are considered ideal in preventing spring frost injury to the new leaves and flowers.
All berry crops have shallow root systems.
Many
land-grant university
A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...
extension offices suggest that strawberries should not be planted more than five years on the same site, due to the danger of
black root rot (though many other illnesses go by the same name), which in the past has been controlled in major commercial production by annual
methyl bromide
Bromomethane, commonly known as methyl bromide, is an organobromine compound with formula C H3 Br. This colorless, odorless, nonflammable gas is produced both industrially and biologically. It has a tetrahedral shape and it is a recognized ozon ...
fumigation
but is largely prohibited now. Besides the number of years in production, soil compaction, the frequency of fumigation, and herbicide usages increase the appearance of black root rot in strawberries.
Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and many other berries are susceptible to
verticillium wilt
Verticillium wilt is a wilt disease affecting over 350 species of eudicot plants. It is caused by six species of ''Verticillium'' fungi: ''V. dahliae'', ''V. albo-atrum'', ''V. longisporum'', ''V. nubilum'', ''V. theobromae'' and ''V. tricorpu ...
. Blueberries and cranberries grow poorly if the clay or silt content of the soil is more than 20%, while most other berries tolerate a wide range of soil types.
For most berry crops, the ideal soil is well drained sandy loam, with a pH of 6.2–6.8 and a moderate to high organic content; however, blueberries have an ideal pH of 4.2–4.8 and can be grown on muck soils, while blueberries and cranberries prefer poorer soils with lower cation exchange, lower calcium, and lower levels of phosphorus.
Growing most berries organically requires the use of proper crop rotation, the right mix of cover crops, and the cultivation of the correct beneficial microorganisms in the soil.
As blueberries and cranberries thrive in soils that are not hospitable to most other plants, and conventional fertilizers are toxic to them, the primary concern when growing them organically is bird management.
Postharvest small fruit berries are generally stored at 90–95% relative humidity and .
Cranberries, however, are frost sensitive, and should be stored at .
Blueberries are the only berries that respond to ethylene, but flavor does not improve after harvest, so they require the same treatment as other berries. Removal of ethylene may reduce disease and spoilage in all berries.
Precooling within one to two hours post-harvest to storage temperature, generally , via forced air cooling increases the storage life of berries by about a third.
Under optimum storage conditions, raspberries and blackberries last for two to five days, strawberries 7–10 days, blueberries two to four weeks, and cranberries two to four months.
Berries can be shipped under high carbon dioxide or modified atmosphere of 10–15% carbon dioxide for high carbon dioxide or 15–20% carbon dioxide and 5–10% oxygen for a modified atmosphere container to increase shelf life and prevent grey mold rot.
Breeding
Several discoveries in the science of breeding berries were made in the 18th century by
Antoine Nicolas Duchesne
Antoine Nicolas Duchesne (born 7 October 1747 Versailles; died 18 February 1827 Paris) was a French botanist known for his keen observation of variation within species, and for demonstrating that species are not immutable, because mutations can occ ...
in his work on strawberries.
In the traditional technique of
plant breeding
Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce cro ...
, berries with specific desirable characteristics were chosen and allowed to sexually reproduce with other berries, and offspring with improved traits could then be selected and used for further crossing. Plants may be
hybridized with different species within the same genus; hybridization between different genus may also be possible, but more difficult. Breeding may seek to increase the size and yield of the fruit, improve the flavor and quality of its nutrient content, such as antioxidants, expand the harvest season, and produce cultivars with resistance to diseases, tolerance of hot or cold conditions, and other desirable traits.
Advancements in
molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...
and
genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...
allow for a more efficient and better targeted approach in the selection for a desirable
genotype
The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...
, via
marker-assisted selection
Marker assisted selection or marker aided selection (MAS) is an indirect selection process where a trait of interest is selected based on a marker ( morphological, biochemical or DNA/ RNA variation) linked to a trait of interest (e.g. producti ...
, for example.
Genetic modification
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...
techniques can also be used for breeding berries.
[
]
Horticultural soft fruit berries
Some fruit not commonly referred to as berries and not always botanically berries are included by land-grant university extension offices in their guides for berry cultivation, or in guides for identifying local wild edible and non-edible berries. Examples include beach plums, American persimmons, pawpaws, Pacific crabapples, and prickly pears.
Commercial production
In the year 2005, there were of land worldwide cultivating berries, with produced.:4
Economics
In certain regions, berrypicking can be a large part of the economy, and it is becoming increasingly common for western European countries such as Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
to import cheap labor from Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
or Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
to do the berry picking. This practice has come under scrutiny in the past years because of the low wages and poor living standard for the "berry-pickers", as well as the lack of worker safety.
In the late 2010s in the US, reduced migration from Mexico and increased minimum wage standards have made finding "stoop-work" labourers to pick the strawberry crop difficult and costly.
Phytochemicals and color
Once ripened, berries have a contrasting color to their background (often of green leaves), making them visible and attractive to frugivorous
A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and ...
animals and birds. This assists the wide dispersal of the plants' seeds.[
Berry colors are due to natural ]phytochemical
Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes . Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons ...
s, including plant pigment
Biological pigments, also known simply as pigments or biochromes, are substances produced by living organisms that have a color resulting from selective color absorption. Biological pigments include plant pigments and flower pigments. Many biol ...
s, such as anthocyanin
Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart gave the name Anthokyan to a chemical compo ...
s, together with other flavonoid
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans.
Chemically, flavonoids ...
s localized mainly in berry skins, seeds and leaves.[ Although berry pigments have ]antioxidant
Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricant ...
properties ''in vitro
''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...
'', there is no physiological
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
evidence established to date that berry pigments have actual antioxidant or any other functions within the human body. Consequently, it is not permitted to claim that foods containing polyphenols have antioxidant health value on product labels in the United States or Europe.
Culinary significance
Use in baked goods
Berries are commonly used in pies or tarts, such as blueberry pie
Blueberry pie is a pie with a blueberry filling. Blueberry pie is readily made because it does not require pitting or peeling of fruit. It usually has a top and bottom crust. The top crust can be circular, but the pie can also have a crumble cru ...
, blackberry pie
Blackberry pie is a pie composed of blackberry filling, usually in the form of either blackberry jam, actual blackberries themselves, or some combination thereof. Blackberry pie is tart, so it requires more sugar than blueberry pie. Blackberries ...
, and strawberry pie
Strawberry pie is a dessert food consisting mainly of strawberries and sugar in a pie crust, sometimes with gelatin. It is often served with whipped cream.
Preparation
Fresh strawberry pies are usually made with in-season sweet berries, w ...
.
Berries are often used in baking, such as blueberry muffins, blackberry muffins, berry cobblers, berry crisps, berry cakes, berry buckles, berry crumb cakes, berry tea cakes, and berry cookies. Berries are commonly incorporated whole into the batter for baking, and care is often taken so as to not burst the berries. Frozen or dried berries may be preferable for some baked berry products. Fresh berries are also often incorporated into baked berry desserts, sometimes with cream, either as a filling to the dessert or as a topping.
Beverages
Berries are often added to water and/or juiced, as in cranberry juice
Cranberry juice is the liquid juice of the cranberry, typically manufactured to contain sugar, water, and other fruit juices. Cranberry – a fruit native to North America – is recognized for its bright red color, tart taste, and versat ...
, which accounts for 95% of cranberry crop usage, blueberry juice, raspberry juice
Raspberry juice is a liquid created from raspberries that is often either used as a part of a mixed drink, added in with other liquids such as orange juice, or consumed by itself. The juice is known for containing a large amount of vitamin C as ...
, goji berry juice, acai juice, aronia berry juice, and strawberry juice. Wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
is the principal fermented beverage
This is a list of fermented foods, which are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms. In this context, fermentation typically refers to the fermentation of sugar to alcohol using yeast, but other fermentation processes involv ...
made from berries (grapes). Fruit wine
Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients (other than grapes); they may also have additional flavors taken from fruits, flowers, and herbs. This definition is sometimes broadened to include any alcohol ...
s are commonly made out of other berries. In most cases, sugars must be added to the berry juices in the process of Chaptalization
Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape must in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation. The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal. This process is not in ...
to increase the alcohol content of the wine. Examples of fruit wines made from berries include: elderberry wine, strawberry wine, blueberry wine, blackberry wine, redcurrant wine, huckleberry wine, goji wine and cranberry wine. Berries are used in some styles of beer, particularly framboise
Framboise () is a Belgian lambic beer fermented with raspberry (''framboise'' is the French word for raspberry).
Beer
In English, ''framboise'' is used primarily in reference to a Belgian lambic beer that is fermented using raspberries. It is ...
(made with raspberry) and other fruit lambic
Lambic () is a type of beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium southwest of Brussels and in Brussels itself since the 13th century. Types of lambic beers include gueuze, kriek lambic and framboise. Lambic differs from most other beers ...
s.
Dried
Currants, raisins
A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the da ...
and sultanas are examples of dried grape berries, and many other commercially important berries are available in dried form.
Fruit preserves
Berries are perishable fruits with a short shelf life, and are often preserved by drying
Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be considered ...
, freezing
Freezing is a phase transition where a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. In accordance with the internationally established definition, freezing means the solidification phase change of a liquid o ...
, pickling
Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called a ...
or making fruit preserves
Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread.
There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the method ...
. Berries such as blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, lingonberry
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...
, loganberry, raspberry, and strawberry are often used in jams and jellies. In the United States, Native Americans were "the first to make preserves from blueberries".
Other usages
Chefs have created quick pickled soft fruit, such as blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Strawberries can be battered and quickly fried in a deep fryer. Sauces made from berries, such as cranberry sauce, can be frozen until hard, battered, and deep fried. Cranberry sauce is a traditional food item for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
, and similar sauces can be made from many other berries such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and huckleberries.
Cultural significance
Dyeing
Berries have been used in some cultures for dyeing
Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...
. Many berries contain juices that can easily stain, affording use as a natural dye
A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
. For example, blackberries are useful for making dyes, especially when ripe berries can easily release juice to produce a colorfast
Colour fastness is a term—used in the dyeing of textile materials—that characterizes a material's colour's resistance to fading or running. Colour fastness is the property of dyes and it is directly proportional to the binding force between pho ...
effect. ''Rubus'' berries, such as blackberry, raspberry, black raspberry
Black raspberry is a common name for three species of the genus ''Rubus'':
*''Rubus leucodermis'', native to western North America
*''Rubus occidentalis'', native to eastern North America
*''Rubus coreanus
300px, (left to right) ''R. coreanu ...
, dewberry
The dewberries are a group of species in the genus ''Rubus'', section ''Rubus'', closely related to the blackberries. They are small trailing (rather than upright or high-arching) brambles with aggregate fruits, reminiscent of the raspberry, ...
, loganberry
The loganberry (''Rubus'' × ''loganobaccus'') is a hybrid of the North American blackberry (''Rubus ursinus'') and the European raspberry (''Rubus idaeus'').
The plant and the fruit resemble the blackberry more than the raspberry, but the frui ...
, and thimbleberry
''Rubus parviflorus'', commonly called thimbleberry, (also known as redcaps) is a species of ''Rubus'' native to northern temperate regions of North America. The plant has large hairy leaves and no thorns. It bears edible red fruit similar in a ...
all produce dye colors. These were once used by Native Americans. In Hawaii, the native raspberry called 'akala' was used to dye tapa cloth
Tapa cloth (or simply ''tapa'') is a barkcloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and H ...
with lavender and pink hues, whereas berries from the dianella lily were used for blue coloration, and berries from the black nightshade Black nightshade is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
* '' Solanum americanum'' (American black nightshade) of much of North America
* ''Solanum nigrum'' (European black nightshade) of Europe
* '' Solanum ptychanthum'' (Eastern bla ...
were used to produce green coloration.
Research
Berry consumption is under preliminary research for the potential to improve nutrition and affect chronic diseases. A 2016 review found that berry consumption can significantly lower body mass index, low density lipoprotein (LDL) and systolic blood pressure.
See also
* List of berries
This list contains the names of Fruit, fruits that are considered Eating, edible either raw or in some Cuisine, cuisines. The word "fruit" is used in several different ways. The definition of fruit for this list is a culinary fruit, that is, "Any ...
* List of inedible fruits
The following is an incomplete list of fleshy fruits that may appear to be edible by humans, but are inedible. Some of them are poisonous, others are merely too unpalatable for consumption.
Inedible fruits
* Abacá, ''Musa textilis'' (M ...
References
Further reading
* Bowling, B.L. (2005)
''The Berry Grower's Companion''
Timber Press.
External links
United States National Berry Crops Initiative
{{Authority control
Fruit morphology
Non-timber forest products