After releasing a blog about fruits and vegetables, I received a request to look further into berries. After
just peering at basic definitions, I knew that the wild blackberries and
raspberries in my backyard were not true berries. There are a vast amount of
other subsections to consider before filing a fruit under the coveted berry
title.
The berry definition is derived from simple fruits, and also
includes drupes and pomes. Berries, by definition, are from a single ovary and
are completely fleshy. Berries can also be considered as simple fruits. A
'berry'– such as the strawberry – is not considered a true berry, but rather an
accessory fruit (also called false fruit or pseudocarp). Strawberries do ripen
from ovaries, but a significant portion of this fruit is derived from non-ovarian
tissue, so these fruits are not true berries.
Then there are aggregate fruits, which are defined as having
a single receptacle of multiple  ovaries. Raspberries, pineapples, and
blackberries are a good example of aggregate fruits. Observing such '-berries'
closely, you can see that there are multiple sacks of juicy deliciousness.
Botanically, there are only a few fruits that are filed
under berries – such as grapes and tomatoes. However, people have common
perceptions of other fruits being berries, especially fruits with '-berry' in
the name. Even cucumbers are botanically considered berries, but have never
been perceived as berries by people.
This just proves that fruits normally called 'berries' have
different structures, are formed differently, and are not 'true berries'. So
next time you think that the '-berry' you hold in your hand is 'true', you have
probably been deceived. If writing about vegetables, fruits, and berries has
taught me anything, it has taught me that whenever I have any of them in my
hand just to call them 'fresh produce' and leave it at that.
Resources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/simple+fruit
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/aggregate+fruit
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/accessory+fruit
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/berry
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Re: Having '-berry' in the Name Doesn’t Make it a Berry
