What's a berry?

[Nightbringer]

Hey all,

there is an ongoing debate in my family about what exactly a berry is, or, more specifically, how do they differ from fruit.

Them being small is not an acceptable answer, I am looking for actual structural differences that accurately split the two as people generally define them.

My opinion is that no such difference exists.

So, what do you all think makes a berry a berry?

[HoreTore]

Berries and fruit aren't two different things, rather berries are a subset of fruits.

The difference is that a berry comes from a single ovary, while a fruit comes from several.

[Nightbringer]

Berries and fruit aren't two different things, rather berries are a subset of fruits.

The difference is that a berry comes from a single ovary, while a fruit comes from several.

So a watermelon is a berry?

[HoreTore]

So a watermelon is a berry?

I've heard so, but I've never actually seen a watermelon flower...

[Major Robert Dump]

Not sure, but rumor has it that the darker the berry, the sweeter the juice.

[Memnon]

So a watermelon is a berry?

Yes, specifically it's called a pepo, a berry with a thick exocarp, or rind, and a fleshy mesocarp, the juicy part. It's strange to think that one of the largest fruits in the world is a berry though.

[drone]

It's strange to think that one of the largest fruits in the world is a berry though.
I believe hot peppers are also considered berries.

[ajaxfetish]

Sounds like it's one of those things where there's both a technical (botanical) definition, and the way the word is traditionally used. Much like how a tomato is botanically a fruit, but is treated as a vegetable in cooking. For a berry, you can go with a technical definition including whatever ends up meeting the criteria of the definition, or you can go with the set of small, generally round fruits that people think of and refer to as berries.

Ajax

[Peasant Phill]

Would a tomato be considered a berry?

[Chaotix]

Would a tomato be considered a berry?

According to HoreTore's definition, yes.