This article deals with the plant flower in the state of seed ripeness. For other meanings, see fruit (disambiguation).
Früchte is a redirect to this article. For the German farmer, merchant and politician, see Jürgen-Christian Früchte.
The fruit (from Latin fructus, in technical terms karp- from Ancient Greek καρπός) of a plant is the totality of the organs that arise from a flower and that enclose the plant seeds until they ripen. Fruits are formed in principle only by those plants which have a closed ovary (angiosperms). In the case of gymnosperms, which include conifers and ginkgo trees, only free seeds are produced.
For example, in addition to the carpel, the following organs may be involved in the formation of a fruit: Axis tissue (for example, the receptacle), perianth, glumes. The fruit is used for dispersal. Depending on whether the seeds are enclosed by the fruit or released when ripe, a distinction is made between closed and open or scattered fruits.
In common parlance, fruit is also understood to include fruit and a clear distinction is not always made between the seeds and the fruit.
Edible parts of plants which, according to different definitions, are classified as vegetables on the one hand and fruits on the other, are known as fruiting vegetables.
