RE Dave Dewitt & Dr Paul Bosland ,NMSU, "The Pepper Garden" Peppers are still fruits, in that the seeds are in the part you eat.. Strawberrys only ones with seeds on outside of fruit.

Some varieties of peppers are very small and are called "Birds Eye" class IE Tepin, Tepe, Chiletipen

A couple of the solanacae plants are the Jeruslam(sp) ground cherry,

Where did this "fruits and vegetables" terminology originate? Is that nutritionists language or is it old marketing jargon? Or something else altogether?

I recently taught a plant propagation "mini-course" for some 6th grade classes. We started out with a debate on what a seed is. The general consensus of the class was that a seed was something that you put in the ground, and it grows into a new plant. They had just studied about flowers, and so some also said that a fruit is an ovary. Technically, a seed is the result of sexual reproduction in flowers. I then presented them with a banana, mango, coconut, beans, peanuts, and a potato (all locally grown plants for us here in Kenya, East Africa). My challenge for them was to tell me which is a seed, a fruit and which is neither.

They readily identified the banana and mango as fruits, and the beans and peanuts as seeds, and weren't sure about the potato and coconut. I then told them that if I planted these 6 items, 5 would grow and one would not. Even though the banana is a fruit, it will not grow because it does not produce viable seed. So, if all of the others will grow, then why are they not seeds? The potato is a specialized stem (tuber), not a seed (not a result of sexual reproduction). But peanuts grow underground, too! Yes, but they are indeed seeds, because after the plant flowers, it sends down special "appendages" into the soil, where the peanuts form. The coconut is indeed a seed, albeit a big one. The beans were pretty obviously seeds. The mango is a fruit with a big seed inside.

It was a joy to see the kids respond, and really have to think! Each kid then got an avocado pit, and was given the choice of trying to germinate it in either water or in potting soil. The first avocado to germinate earns its gardener a Snickers candy bar. It was a really fun experience for me and the kids!

Here is a dictionary definition of a vegetable:
The edible part of a plant, such as the root of the beet, the leaf of spinach, or the flower buds of broccoli or cauliflower.

And a dictionary definition of a fruit:
The ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant, together with accessory parts, containing the seeds and occurring in a wide variety of forms.

A tomato is an edible part of a plant. It is also a ripened ovary which contains seeds. Therefore it is a fruit AND a vegetable.

Cucurbits (pumpkins, squash, zucchini, cucumber, etc.) need enzymes different from the other two groups. That is why many people, including me, find them difficult to digest.

Or whatever... I just like fighting over the fruit veggie argument

Palyne

My question may be stupid but now that we have seedless varieties of 'fruits' coming out (e.g. grapes, watermelon), is there any other definition of fruit that I can give? She hasn't asked me yet but I'm anticipating the question and would like to have an answer ready when she does ask.

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/elementary/articles/tw971104.htm

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES?

TELL ME WHY by Arkady Leokum

The word "fruit" usually describes any fleshy part of a plant that has developed from a flower and has seeds. Vegetables are herbaceous plants. Herbaceous plants have soft stems and little or no woody tissue.

According to botanists, the part of a plant that carries seeds is its fruit. They divide fruits into three main classes: fleshy fruits with seeds in the flesh, such as oranges, melons, berries and apples; fruits containing pits or stones, such as cherries, plums and peaches; and dry fruits, such as nuts, grains, beans and peas.

Just as there are families of related creatures in the animal kingdom, so many vegetables are related. Did you know, for example, that cabbage, turnips, radishes, broccoli and cauliflower all belong to one family of vegetables?

Lettuce, chicory and artichokes belong to another vegetable family. The gourd family includes cucumbers, melons and pumpkins. The pea family consists of peas, all kinds of beans, peanuts and soybeans.

Asparagus is related to the common onion, leek, garlic, chive and shallot. Beets, spinach and Swiss chard all belong to one family. And here is an interesting one: the nightshade family. It includes potatoes, eggplants, peppers and tobacco.

Fruits and vegetables are alike in that they supply us with the vitamins and minerals that help to keep us healthy.

UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
NOVEMBER 4, 1997
COPYRIGHT (c) 1997 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

"The word "fruit" usually describes any fleshy part of a plant that has developed from a flower and has seeds. Vegetables are herbaceous plants. Herbaceous plants have soft stems and little or no woody tissue. "

According to botanist a fruit is a ripened ovary along with any stucture that enloses the ripened ovary ... the ovary being part of the pistil the female part of the flower ...

Outside of botany however for the purpose of commerce ... there are legal definitions of what are fruits and vegetables ... some fruits are listed as vegetables by law ... like it or not that is the law and you can get in a lot of hot water selling a fruit as a fruit when it's listed as a vegetable !! ( Wierd ... )

The term vegetable in a horticulture sense refers to a group of plants grown traditionally in "vegetable gardens " ... many of which are herbaceous ... that is have only non woody growth and normally live only for a season and die back to the ground ... a very diverse grouping of plants best charecterized or defined by the characters of the plants themselves ...

As Cathy pointed out the term "Vegetable" is not listed in many botanical references ... however ... a "vegetative" part of a plant is a part that carries out photosynthesis .. metabolism ect. but not involved with sexual reproduction. The green part on top of the carrot is a vegetative organ called the shoot .... it will produce flowers that are non vegetative and the flowers have a pistil whose ovary will develope into a fruit .. a non edible fruit.

The part we eat is the Carrot root ... which is a vegetatative organ ( Yes organ like a Kidney in a human ) in a botanical sense ... an Apple a fruit in a botanical sense AND not ofcouse a vegetable in a horticulture sense or a legal sense ... a Pepper plant a vegetable in a horticulture sense that makes an edible structure that contains seeds called a fruit in a botanical sense ... a Tomato a fruit in a botanical sense BUT some call it a vegetable which makes no botanical sense BUT a vegetable in a legal sense which makes sense ... make sense ??

Good Day ...

"fruit contains a lot more sugar than vegetables."

Nuts are fruits ... Pine nuts ... Walnuts ... Almonds ect..

Good Day ...

Ask Dr. Dictionary, a feature of Dictionary.com, provides a succinct explanation:

A fruit is actually the sweet, ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant. A vegetable, in contrast, is an herbaceous plant cultivated for an edible part (seeds, roots, stems, leaves, bulbs, tubers, or nonsweet fruits). So, to be really nitpicky, a fruit could be a vegetable, but a vegetable could not be a fruit.

Most fruits are sweet because they contain a simple sugar called fructose, while most vegetables are less sweet because they have much less fructose. The sweetness of fruit encourages animals to eat it and thereby spread the seeds. An interesting list of fruits that are often thought to be vegetables:

tomatoes
cucumbers
squashes and zucchini
avocados
green, red, and yellow peppers
peapods
pumpkins

Thanks .. but no thanks.

Good Day ...

sincerely,
Dr. Washington L. Nunez

p.s. i own you

Hope that clears the air on this matter (no pun inteaded)

Thanks for the info everyone :-)

By the way, Mr. 37's fart-potential distinction gets my vote! Although seemingly not as scientifically sound as some of the offerings I perused on this message board, it is probably more accurate than many. Moreover, I assume there actually is scientific support for this flatulence correlation.

What's the difference between a root and a tuber?

Carrots, parsnips, beets, radishes...root vegetables?

Potato, yam, taro, water chestnuts...tubers?

Is the difference that a root vegetable actually functions in bringing in nutrients and a tuber is simply a storage facility for the nutrients brought in?