This list contains the names of
fruits
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 particula ...
that are considered
edible
An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...
either raw or in some
cuisines
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
. The word "fruit" is used in several different ways. The definition of fruit for this list is a culinary fruit, that is, "Any sweet, edible part of a
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
that resembles fruit, even if it does not develop from a floral
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. ...
; also used in a technically imprecise sense for some sweet or semi-sweet
vegetables
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...
, some of which may resemble a true fruit or are used in cookery as if they were a fruit, for example
rhubarb
Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhizo ...
."
Many edible plant parts that are ''true fruits'' botanically speaking, are not considered culinary fruits. They are classified as vegetables in the culinary sense (for example: the
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 ...
,
zucchini
The zucchini (; plural: zucchini or zucchinis), courgette (; plural: courgettes) or baby marrow (''Cucurbita pepo'') is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are stil ...
, and so on), and hence they do not appear in this list. Similarly, some botanical fruits are classified as nuts (e.g.
brazil nut
The Brazil nut (''Bertholletia excelsa'') is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and it is also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. It is one of the largest and longest-lived trees in the Amazon rainforest. ...
), and do not appear here either. Even so, this list is otherwise organized botanically.
Pomes
![Four_pears](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Four_pears.jpg)
Pomes include any crunchy
accessory fruit
An accessory fruit is a fruit in which some of the flesh is derived not from the floral ovary but from some adjacent tissue exterior to the carpel.Esau, K. 1977. ''Anatomy of seed plants''. John Wiley and Sons, New York. Accessory fruits are us ...
that surrounds the fruit's inedible "core" (composed of the plant's
endocarp
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. Agg ...
) and typically has its seeds arranged in a star-like pattern.
Drupes
![Mango and cross sections](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Mango_and_cross_sections.jpg)
Drupes represent any fruit that has only one seed (or "stone") or one hard capsule containing seeds.
Botanical berries
![Bananas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Bananas.jpg)
Botanical berries represent any fruit that has a relatively thin exterior, with mostly flesh and more than one seed inside.
Pepos
![Bael Sherbat Indian Beverage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Bael_Sherbat_Indian_Beverage.jpg)
Pepos represent any fruit that is covered by a hard, thick rind with soft flesh inside, and seeds filling each
locule
A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus).
In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...
.
Melons
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of botanical berry, berry, specifical ...
are good examples of this.
Hesperidiums
![Lime_Blossom_2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Lime_Blossom_2.jpg)
Also known as
citruses, Hesperidiums possess thick and leathery rinds. These fruits are generally sour and acidic to some extent and have a wagon wheel-like cross section.
Aggregate fruits
![Raspberry - halved (Rubus idaeus)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Raspberry_-_halved_%28Rubus_idaeus%29.jpg)
Aggregate fruits are a cluster of many fruits produced from a single flower.
Multiple fruits
![Fig (Ficus carica) fruit halved](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Fig_%28Ficus_carica%29_fruit_halved.jpg)
Multiple fruits are a cluster of many fruits produced from multiple flowers.
Capsules
![Bacuri Platonia insignis 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Bacuri_Platonia_insignis_3.JPG)
Capsules represent a pod fruit with multiple
carpel
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'' ...
s.
Legumes
![Averrhoa bilimbi 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Averrhoa_bilimbi_2011.jpg)
Legumes represent a pod fruit with one carpel.
Follicles
Follicles represent a single ovary that splits along a single seam.
Plants with edible fruit-like structures
![Rhubarb Pie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Rhubarb_Pie.jpg)
Plants with edible fruit-like structures are not technically fruit, but are used culinarily as such.
See also
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
List of fruit dishes
This is a list of notable fruit dishes. Fruit dishes are those that use fruit as a primary ingredient. Condiments prepared with fruit as a primary ingredient are also included in this list.
Fruit dishes
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Fruit tree propagation
Fruit tree propagation is usually carried out vegetatively (non-sexually) by grafting or budding a desired variety onto a suitable rootstock.
Perennial plants can be propagated either by sexual or vegetative means. Sexual reproduction begins w ...
*
Tropical agriculture
Worldwide more human beings gain their livelihood from agriculture than any other endeavor; the majority are self-employed subsistence farmers living in the tropics. While growing food for local consumption is the core of tropical agriculture, ...
*
Tropical fruit
A tropical fruit one that typically grows in warm climates, or equatorial areas.
Tropical fruits
Varieties of tropical fruit include:
* Acerola ( West Indian Cherry or Barbados Cherry)
*Ackee
*Banana
*Barbadine (granadilla; maracujá-açu in ...
*
List of culinary nuts
A culinary nut is a dry, edible fruit or seed that usually, but not always, has a high fat content. Nuts are used in a wide variety of edible roles, including in baking, as snacks (either roasted or raw), and as flavoring. In addition to bot ...
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List of edible seeds
An edible seed is a seed that is suitable for human or animal consumption. Of the six major plant parts, seeds are the dominant source of human calories and protein. A wide variety of plant species provide edible seeds; most are angiosperms, whil ...
*
List of vegetables
This is a list of plants that have a culinary role as vegetables. "Vegetable" can be used in several senses, including culinary, botanical and legal. This list includes botanical fruits such as pumpkins, and does not include herbs, spices, cer ...
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List of culinary herbs and spices
This is a list of culinary herbs and spices. Specifically these are food or drink additives of mostly botanical origin used in nutritionally insignificant quantities for flavoring or coloring.
This list does not contain fictional plants such a ...
*
List of foods
This is a categorically-organized list of foods. Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is produced either by Plants or Animals, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vit ...
References
External links
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* {{cite web, url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/index.html, title=Fruits of Warm Climates, publisher=Purdue University
Rare Fruit Growers of Californiawit
Fruits of the world Directory of fruits in French
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 ...
Culinary fruits
Types of food
Fruits, Culinary