The fruit

📖 In short

A fruit is the part of a plant that carries and protects the seeds. To botanists there are lots of fruits: apples and oranges are fruits, and so are tomatoes, cucumbers, grains of wheat and acorns! In everyday speech, we call the sweet, juicy ones we eat “fruit”.

🤩 Did you know?

Brazil grows about a third of the world's oranges.
Strawberries have their seeds on the outside.
Some fruits fly on the wind, like the winged fruits of the maple.
The coconut is a fruit that floats on the sea and travels long distances!

🔎 Find out more

🌟 From flower to fruit

After a flower is pollinated, its petals fall off, and the part in the middle starts to swell and grow until it becomes a fruit, with the seeds inside.

🔍 Why are fruits tasty?

Plants make sweet, colorful fruit so animals and birds will eat it and carry the seeds far away, where new plants will grow. It's a clever plan!

💡 Kinds of fruit

Some fruits are soft and juicy, like peaches and grapes; some are dry and hard, like walnuts and almonds; some have one big stone, like apricots, and some have lots of seeds, like watermelons.