Fruit or vegetable?

A fruit develops from a plant’s fertilized flower. It encloses and protects the seeds while they develop, then helps to spread them. The sweet flesh of most fruits encourages animals—including humans— to eat them, spreading their seeds in the process.

A ripe strawberry is bright red, and packed with vitamins and nutrients.

Tasty bananas come ready-wrapped in a tough protective skin.

Seed ❯ Most fleshy fruits, such as this kiwi, develop as a tasty package to hold the seeds. Fleshy fruits often change color as they ripen so that animals can spot and eat them, dispersing their seeds.

What is a vegetable?

Vegetables are any edible part of a plant except for the fruit. We eat fleshy roots, succulent stems, flowers, buds, and leaves. Because all these parts of the plant are making or storing food, they are rich in vitamins, which make them good food for us.

Bananas are a type of berry, but most have been bred to not contain seeds.

Root ❯ A root vegetable is the underground part of the plant. It can be the plant’s food store in the winter and contains starch, sugar, and vitamins. High in nutrients and fiber, edible roots are an important part of a healthy diet. Leaf ❯ A leaf makes food and so contains energy and minerals. The fiber in leaves that makes them sturdy helps human digestion.

Brown pear seeds are found in a central core, within the fleshy fruit.

Figs are eaten fresh and dried.

The thin red peel forms an attractive layer around the flesh, to attract animals.

Any part of a plant we eat is either a fruit or a vegetable. Fruits develop from fertilized flowers, and contain seeds that are spread when they are eaten. Any edible part of the plant that is not a fruit is a vegetable. This can be a root, a stem, a leaf, or even the buds of developing flowers.

False fruits and vegetables

We often use the terms “fruit” and “vegetable,” based on how we eat plants—in sweet or savory dishes—rather than how they grow. So, a sweet-tasting vegetable is sometimes called a fruit, while a savory salad fruit may be called a vegetable!

Stem ❯ A stem transports food to and from the roots of a plant and is full of minerals. When stems are soft enough, they can be eaten as vegetables, raw or cooked.

Rhubarb is an example of a false fruit. It is actually a stem vegetable. A tomato is an example of a false vegetable. It is actually a fruit.