Berry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Berry (disambiguation).

Redcurrants, a type of "true" berry.

The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes and avocados are two common examples. 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. The seeds are usually embedded in the fleshy interior of the ovary, but there are some non-fleshy exceptions, such as peppers. A plant that bears berries is said to be bacciferous or baccate (a fruit that resembles a berry, whether it actually is a berry or not, can also be called "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 poisonous to humans. Some berries, such asCapsicum, have space rather than pulp around their seeds.
Contents [hide] 1 Botanical berries o 1.1 Modified berries

2 Fruits not botanical berries o o o o o 2.1 Drupes 2.2 Pomes 2.3 Aggregate fruits 2.4 Multiple fruits 2.5 Accessory fruits

3 Color and potential health benefits

4 See also 5 Notes 6 Further reading 7 External links

Botanical berries[edit]

Ripe lingonberries

In botanical language, a berry is a simple fruit having seeds and pulp produced from a single ovary; the ovary can be inferioror superior. Examples of botanical berries include:

Avocado (Persea americana) a one-seeded berry Banana[1] Barberry (Berberis; Berberidaceae) Bearberry (Arctostaphylos spp.) Blueberry Coffee berries Cranberry Crowberry (Empetrum spp.) Currant (Ribes spp.; Grossulariaceae), red, black, and white types Elderberry (Sambucus niger; Caprifoliaceae) Gooseberry (Ribes spp.; Grossulariaceae) Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica) Garcinia gummi-gutta, Garcinia mangostana, and Garcinia indica (Vrikshamla) Goji berries (Wolfberry) Grape, Vitis vinifera

Honeysuckle: the berries of some species are edible and are called honeyberries, but others are poisonous (Lonicera spp.; Caprifoliaceae)

Lingonberry/Cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) Persimmon Mayapple (Podophyllum spp.; Berberidaceae) Nannyberry or sheepberry (Viburnum spp.; Caprifoliaceae) Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium; Berberidaceae) Pumpkin Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), not to be confused with the strawberry (Fragaria) Tomato and other species of the family Solanaceae Watermelon

Modified berries[edit]
The fruit of citrus, such as the 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, melonsand squash).[2] 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.[3]

Fruits not botanical berries[edit]

Several types of common "berries" are shown, only one of which (the blueberry) is a berry by botanical definition. Blackberries areaggregate fruit composed of many drupelets, and strawberries are aggregate accessory fruit.

Many fruits commonly referred to as berries are not actual berries by the scientific definition, but fall into one of the following categories:

Drupes[edit]
Drupes are fleshy fruits produced from a (usually) single-seeded ovary with a hard stony layer (called the endocarp) surrounding the seed.

Olive Plum Peach Cherry Hackberry (Celtis spp.; Cannabaceae) Coconut Bayberry

Other drupe-like fruits with a single seed that lack the stony endocarp include Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides,Elaeagnaceae), an achene surrounded by the swollen hypanthium, which provides the fleshy layer.

Pomes[edit]

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[edit]

Alaska wild "berries" from theInnoko National Wildlife Refuge, a mixture of true berries and aggregate fruits

Aggregate fruits contain seeds from different ovaries of a single flower. Examples include blackberry and raspberry.

Multiple fruits[edit]
Multiple fruits 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.[4]

Accessory fruits[edit]
Main article: Accessory fruit In accessory fruits, the edible part is not generated by the ovary. Berry-like examples include:

Strawberry - the aggregate of seed-like achenes is actually the "fruit", derived from an aggregate of ovaries, and the fleshy part develops from the receptacle.

Gurbir, Duchesnea indica - structured just like a strawberry 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[edit]

Example of color contrast in these (mostly inedible) wild berries

Berries are typically of a contrasting color to their background (often of green leaves), making them visible and attractive tofrugivorous animals and birds. This assists the wide dispersal of the plants' seeds. Berry colors are due to natural plant pigments, many of which are polyphenols, such as the flavonoids, anthocyanins, andtannins, localized mainly in berry skins and seeds. Berry pigments are usually antioxidants in vitro.[5] However, there is no physiological evidence established to date that berry polyphenols have actual antioxidant value within the human body, and it is not permitted to claim that polyphenols have antioxidant health value on product labels in the United States and Europe.[6][7]

See also[edit]
Food portal

List of culinary fruits List of inedible fruits Loganberry Wheatberry

Notes[edit]
1. Jump up^ Armstrong, Wayne P. "Identification Of Major Fruit Types". Wayne's Word: An OnLine Textbook of Natural History. Retrieved 2013-08-17. 2. Jump up^ Gupta, P.K. (2007). Genetics Classical To Modern. Rastogi Publications.ISBN 97881-7133-896-2. 3. Jump up^ "A Systematic Treatment of Fruit Types". Worldbotanical.com. Retrieved 2013-08-26. 4. Jump up^ The American Heritage Science Dictionary . Google Books. Retrieved 2013-08-26. 5. Jump up^ Wu X, Beecher GR, Holden JM, Haytowitz DB, Gebhardt SE, Prior RL (June 2004). "Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities of common foods in the United States". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52 (12): 402637.doi:10.1021/jf049696w. PMID 15186133.

6. Jump up^ 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 2008 7. Jump up^ EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA)2, 3 (2010)."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" (PDF). EFSA Journal (Parma, Italy: European Food Safety Authority) 8 (2): 1489. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1489.