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Did you know that tomato and cucumber are berries? Yes, in fact, there are a wide variety of them in the plant world. Berries, those that we normally associate with fruits of shrubs and small plants, are a fleshy fruit widely used for its energy value or medicinal properties. For example, you surely know the famous Goji berries and their benefits. Well, these and other berries are the ones that we want to present to you in this short article by Green Ecologist about what are berries, their characteristics, types and examples.
Our intention is to encourage you to learn more about them, where the berries grow and what their main characteristics are so that you can distinguish them at a glance and value them as one of the gif.webpts that Mother Nature gives us. Do you dare to know a little more about these fruits?
What are berries
The term is used berry to name a fleshy type fruit, which has pulp. This protects the seed throughout the maturation stage until the moment it is dispersed thanks to the action of other animals, hence the vast majority of them are edible.
The berry formation process begins when the flower is fertilized. At that same moment the ovary wall begins to create a fleshy pericarp whose function is to protect the seed. As it finishes maturing, the seeds or seeds will be distributed throughout the pulp.
Here you can learn more about the different types of fruits.
Berry characteristics
These are the main characteristics of the berries:
- The main characteristic of the berries is their color and their shiny appearance. They are undoubtedly some of the most striking fruits present in the plant world. The main reason for this aspect is to attract the attention of animals that help to spread them through their feces, since the seeds that are inside are rarely digested.
- This type of fruit is usually small in size, but depending on the variety they can reach a larger size than other parts of the plant, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, which despite their very different appearance are also among the different varieties of berries
- Berries are very fleshy fruits with an intense flavor. This is because once the flower is fertilized, a fleshy layer is created around the ovary wall that surrounds the seed and is distributed throughout the pulp of the fruit.
- The vast majority of them are a source of vitamins and sugars, although recently other medicinal properties have been discovered in different varieties of berries. In other cases, the berries can be highly poisonous and harmful to both humans and other animals.
- Finally, another of the common characteristics of berries is where they grow. Berries grow on shrubs and plants that need rich soil and a partially shaded place to better retain moisture. They need constant watering so that the fruits grow and stay juicy for as long as possible.
Berry types and examples
There are many berry varieties, such as classic berries, polybeys or multiple berries, peponids, typical of the cucurbit family, and modified berries:
- What classic berries species such as grapes or tomatoes are known.
- In the case of polybend we speak of syncarpus or fruits that merge, as is the case of the custard apple.
- Clear examples of peponid-type berries we have cucumbers, watermelon, melon or pumpkin, which are characterized by having a thick skin so that the pulp remains juicy for longer. Also within the Peponid berries or false berries We find the most recognizable group as such, we talk about strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and currants, those that are also known as wild fruits in more general terms and much better known by all.
- We can also talk about other types of berries, such as those commonly called modified berries. Within them are fruits such as lemon or orange.
Other examples of berries
Next, we offer you a list with several berry plants so that you are encouraged to cultivate them or to learn more about them. In this selection we have highlighted, above all, the red berries and black berries best known for their appearance and taste so that it is much easier for you to identify them as such:
- Vaccinium angustifolium or black cranberry
- Vaccinium macrocarpon or lingonberry
- Rubus idaeus or raspberry
- Fragaria sp or strawberry
- Lycium barbarum or goji berry
- Ribes nigrum or black currant
- Ribes rubrum or red currant
- Arbustus unedo or strawberry tree
- Vitis sp or grapes
- Berberis microphylla or calafate
- Prunus cerasus or cherry
- Sloe or spider
- Rosa micrantha or rose hip
- Ugni molinae or murtilla
- Smilax aspera or sarsaparilla
- Ribes alpinum or alpine currant
- Rubus fruticosus or blackberry
- Morus nigra or blackberry
- Sambucus or elderberry
- Aristotelia chilensis or maqui
If you want to read more articles similar to What are berries, characteristics, types and examples, we recommend that you enter our Biology category.
