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: For other uses, see Berry (disambiguation) .
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary (plant)|ovary . Grape s are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp . They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors. The seeds are usually embedded in the flesh of the ovary. A plant that bears berries is said to be bacciferous . Many species of plants produce fruit that are similar to berries, but not actually berries, and these are said to be baccate .
In everyday English, "berry" is a term for any small edible fruit. These "berries" are usually juicy, round or semi-oblong, brightly coloured, sweet or sour, and do not have a stone or pit, although many seeds may be present.
Many berries, such as the tomato , are edible, but others in the same family, such as the fruits of the deadly nightshade ( Atropa belladonna ) and the fruits of the potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) are poison ous to humans. Some berries, such as Capsicum , have space rather than pulp around their seeds.
Botanical berries
In botany|botanical language, a berry is a simple fruit having seed s and pulp produced from a single ovary (plants)|ovary ; the ovary can be inferior ovary|inferior or superior ovary|superior .
Examples of botanical berries include:
Avocado ( Persea americana ) a one-seeded berry
Banana
Berberis|Barberry ( Berberis ; Berberidaceae )
Bearberry ( Arctostaphylos spp.)
Coffea|Coffee berries
Cranberry
Crowberry ( Empetrum spp.)
Ribes|Currant ( Ribes spp.; Grossulariaceae ), red, black, and white types
Arbutus unedo|Strawberry tree ( Arbutus unedo ), not to be confused with the actual strawberry ( Fragaria )
Tomato and other species of the family Solanaceae
Watermelon
Wolfberry
Modified berries
The fruit of citrus , such as the orange (fruit)|orange , kumquat and lemon , is a berry with a thick rind and a very juicy interior that is given the special name hesperidium .
Berries which develop from an inferior ovary are sometimes termed epigynous berries or false berries , as opposed to true berries which develop from a superior ovary. In epigynous berries, the berry includes tissue derived from parts of the flower besides the ovary. The floral tube, formed from the basal part of the sepals, petals and stamens can become fleshy at maturity and is united with the ovary to form the fruit. Common fruits that are sometimes classified as epigynous berries include bananas, coffee, members of the genus Vaccinium (e.g., cranberries and blueberries), and members of the family Cucurbitaceae (e.g., cucumbers, melons and squash).cite book|author=Gupta, P.K.|title=Genetics Classical To Modern|publisher=Rastogi Publications|isbn=978-81-7133-896-2|url= http://books.google.ca/books? id=uIfSEdff6YgC
Another specialized term is also used for Cucurbitaceae fruits, which are modified to have a hard outer rind, and are given the special name pepo . While pepos are most common in the Cucurbitaceae, the fruits of Passiflora and Carica are sometimes also considered pepos. http://www.worldbotanical.com/fruit_types.htm A Systematic Treatment of Fruit Types
Not a botanical berry
Many fruits commonly referred to as berries are not actual berries by the scientific definition, but fall into one of these categories:
Drupes
Drupe s are fleshy fruits produced from a (usually) single-seeded ovary with a hard stony layer (called the endocarp ) surrounding the seed.
Other drupe-like fruits with a single seed, that lack the stony endocarp include:
Sea-buckthorn ( Hippophae rhamnoides ; Elaeagnaceae ) An achene surrounded by the hypanthium , which provides the fleshy layer
Pomes
The pome fruits produced by plants in subtribe Pyrinae of family Rosaceae , such as apples and pears, have a structure (the core) that clearly separates the seeds from the ovary tissue. However, some of the smaller pomes are sometimes referred to as berries. Bright red haws from Crataegus are sometimes called hawberries. Amelanchier pomes become so soft at maturity that they resemble a blueberry and are known as Juneberries or Saskatoon berries.
Aggregate fruits
Aggregate fruit s contain seeds from different ovaries of a single flower. Examples include blackberry and raspberry .
Multiple fruits
Multiple fruit s include the fruits of multiple flowers that are merged or packed closely together. The mulberry is a berry-like example of a multiple fruit; it develops from a cluster of tiny separate flowers that become compressed as they develop into fruit. http://books.google.com/books? id=yKUagx8PB_EC& pg=PA66& lpg=PA66& dq=blueberries+%22are+not+true+berries%22& source=web& ots=KZhmN9EUJW& sig=8f_BI1C9J9C0sKB1J-0jOZzAms0 The American heritage science dictionary, Google Books
In accessory fruit s, the edible part is not generated by the ovary. Berry-like examples include:
Strawberry - the aggregate of seed-like achene s is actually the "fruit", derived from an aggregate of ovaries, and the fleshy part develops from the Receptacle (botany)|receptacle .
Gurbir , Duchesnea indica - structured just like a strawberry
Coccoloba uvifera|Sea grape ( Coccoloba uvifera ; Polygonaceae ) - the fruit is a dry capsule surrounded by fleshy calyx
Wintergreen ( Gaultheria procumbens ) - the fruit is a dry capsule surrounded by fleshy calyx
Color and potential health benefits
By contrasting in color with their background, berries are more attractive to animals that eat them, and they therefore aid in the biological dispersal|dispersal of the plants' seeds.
Berry colors are due to natural plant pigment s, many of which are polyphenols, such as the flavonoid s, anthocyanin s, and tannins , localized mainly in berry skin s and seed s. Berry pigments are usually antioxidant s in vitro and thus have oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) that is high among plant foods.cite journal |author=Wu X, Beecher GR, Holden JM, Haytowitz DB, Gebhardt SE, Prior RL |title=Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities of common foods in the United States |journal=J. Agric. Food Chem. |volume=52 |issue=12 |pages=4026–37 |year=2004 |month=June |pmid=15186133 |doi=10.1021/jf049696w Together with good nutrient content, ORAC derived in the laboratory distinguishes several berries within a new category of functional foods called " superfruit s". However, there is no physiological evidence established to date that berry polyphenols have actual antioxidant value within the human body, and it remains invalid to claim polyphenols have antioxidant health value on product labels in the United States and Europe. http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/FDA-1995-N-0400-GDL.pdf Guidance for Industry, Food Labeling; Nutrient Content Claims; Definition for "High Potency" and Definition for "Antioxidant" for Use in Nutrient Content Claims for Dietary Supplements and Conventional Foods U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, June 2008cite journal |author=EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA)2, 3 |title=Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to various food(s)/food constituent(s) and protection of cells from premature aging, antioxidant activity, antioxidant content and antioxidant properties, and protection of DNA, proteins and lipids from oxidative damage pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/20061 |journal=EFSA Journal |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=1489 |year=2010 |publisher=European Food Safety Authority |location=Parma, Italy |url= http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/scdocs/doc/1489.pdf |format=PDF |doi=10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1489
Bowling, B.L. (2005). The Berry Grower’s Companion . Timber Press. ISBN 978-0-88192-826-9Please check ISBN|reason=Check digit (9) does not correspond to calculated figure.
External links
http://www.nccpg.com/Page.Aspx? Page=161 The National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens & ndash; Description of berries
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576964/Fruit.html Encarta.msn.com ( http://www.webcitation.org/5kwQ0N5xY Archived 2009-10-31) & ndash; Differentiation between true berries, pepos, and hesperidia
http://nationalberrycrops.org United States National Berry Crops Initiative
http://berryhealth.fst.oregonstate.edu/index.asp Berry Health Benefits Network & ndash; Scientists working on the health properties of berries
