Berry (botany)

In botany, a berry is a fleshy fruit without a stone (pit) produced from a single ovary. The ovary must be of a single flower. By this definition, berries develop from a single flower that has one ovary. The pericarp (fruit wall) is fleshy throughout, although the exocarp (outer skin) may be tough.

True berries are simple fruits, meaning they develop from a single flower with a single pistil (the female part of the flower, comprised of ovary, style, and stigma). The entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. The fruit typically contains one or more seeds.

Botanical berries include grapes, tomatoes, peppers (Capsicum), blueberries, cranberries, gooseberries, and currants.

Several fruits commonly referred to as berries are not true berries in the botanical sense. These are often aggregate fruits (developed from a single flower with multiple pistils) or accessory fruits (where other floral parts contribute significantly to the fruit). Examples of fruits that are not true berries include strawberries (an aggregate accessory fruit), raspberries (an aggregate fruit), and blackberries (an aggregate fruit).

The classification of fruits as berries can be confusing because the common usage of the term "berry" differs from the botanical definition.