Question: Why is a tomato considered a fruit?
Botanically speaking, anything that bears seeds is a fruit. The fruit forms
from the reproductive part of the plant, i.e., the flower. The ovary of the
flower becomes the fruit and inside the seeds form. So a tomato comes from
the flower and inside are the seeds. So it is a fruit. A nut is a seed and
the shell is the fruit. Anything from a part of the plant that is not the
flower is vegetative, i.e., does not reproduce. So leaves, stems and roots
are vegetables. So lettuce, carrots and potatoes are vegetables.
Because it contains seeds.
Relation Questions:
Answer:
Because it grows on branch and contains seeds
Ummm for the people who say because of the seeds.. Cucumbers have seeds and they are vegetables not fruits.. The reason they are fruit is because they grow from a branch..
Posted by Cathy(catmint@bestweb.net) on Sat, Jan 15, 00 at 11:03
I have taught plant science to elementary school classes at a botanical garden. I get this question all the time!
The answer depends on who you are: a scientist? a greengrocer? I'll give you the botanist's answer:
A fruit is the ripened (swollen) ovary of a flower. The ovary ripens when the ovules inside have been fertilized. Seeds of flowering plants always are found inside fruits.
Botanists generally don't use the word vegetable to mean a plant or even a plant part. The basic parts are roots, stems, leaves flowers/fruit/seeds. Vegetable is a grocery store term: Tomatoes are called vegetables to distinguish them from the sweeter fruits like peaches. Carrots are called vegetables but the part we eat is of course a root.
In horticulture people talk about growing "flowers and vegetables" but that doesn't really make sense: tomatoes and peppers are flowering plants!
I appreciate your question. I believe it's extremely important to give kids accurate info, especially if the learning is being done in a science class/class unit.
There's so much misinfo out there & it's confusing to kids-adults too!
I hope you'll gently share this with the teacher & let me know what she says.
Regards,
Cathy
I know this is is an old posting, but I just came across it and couldn't resist posting. I think the fundamental problem here is that people think that the words "fruit" and "vegetable" are mutally exclusive.
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.
there is the site that explains this quite well and where the abopve statements were made.
Because it grows above ground and not in the ground. But i still call it a veggie anyway.
"
Botanically speaking, anything that bears seeds is a fruit. The fruit forms
from the reproductive part of the plant, i.e., the flower. The ovary of the
flower becomes the fruit and inside the seeds form. So a tomato comes from
the flower and inside are the seeds. So it is a fruit. A nut is a seed and
the shell is the fruit. Anything from a part of the plant that is not the
flower is vegetative, i.e., does not reproduce. So leaves, stems and roots
are vegetables. So lettuce, carrots and potatoes are vegetables.
Because it contains seeds. "
Because it has seeds.
seeds
whys your name bob?