In botanical terminology, a berry is a simple fruit with seeds and pulp produced from the ovary 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. A berry may develop from an ovary with one or more carpels (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, with air rather than pulp around their seeds. The differences between the everyday and botanical uses of “berry” result in three categories: those fruits which are berries under both definitions; those fruits which are botanical berries but not commonly known as berries; and those parts of plants commonly known as berries which are not botanical berries, and may not even be fruits.
Berries under both definitions include blueberries, cranberries, lingonberries, and the fruits of many other members of the heather family, as well as gooseberries, goji berries and elderberries. The fruits of some “currants” (Ribes species), such as blackcurrants, redcurrants and white currants, 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 bananas, tomatoes, grapes, eggplants or aubergines, persimmons, watermelons and pumpkins.
