Bananas Are Berries, Strawberries Are Not! Here's the Scientific Reason Why
Although it's called a strawberry, did you know that this delicious fruit, perfect for making juice, is actually not classified as a berry? Interestingly, bananas are classified as berries. How is that possible? Well, there is a scientific explanation behind this.
The confusion about what constitutes a berry arose because people have referred to certain fruits as 'berries' thousands of years before scientists discovered the precise definition of the term. This is explained by Judy Jernstedt, a professor of plant sciences at the University of California.
Typically, people think of berries as small fruits with many small seeds, like strawberries. However, the scientific classification is much more complex. Botanically, a berry has three distinct fleshy layers: the exocarp (outer skin), mesocarp (middle fleshy part), and endocarp (the innermost part that holds the seeds). For example, the outer skin of a grape is the exocarp, the fleshy middle part is the mesocarp, and the jelly-like inner part that holds the seeds is the endocarp, Jernstedt explains.
This layered structure also appears in other berries, including bananas, eggplants, grapes, and watermelons, each with a skin and fleshy fruit.
Additionally, for a fruit to be classified as a berry, it must contain two or more seeds. Another classification rule is that the fruit must develop from a single flower with one ovary. Some plants, like blueberries, have flowers with only one ovary. That's why blueberries are considered "true" berries.
So why isn't a strawberry a berry? This is because strawberries and raspberries have flowers with more than one ovary. Instead of being classified as a berry, strawberries belong to the group of aggregate fruits.
What about other fruits? What about oranges? According to Courtney Weber, an expert from Cornell University in New York, oranges are a subtype of berry called a *hesperidium*. Like other berries, oranges have three fleshy layers, contain two or more seeds, and develop from a single flower with one ovary. However, oranges contain segments related to the number of carpels, which excludes them from being classified as other types of berries.
Confused? You're not alone—scientists also often struggle with this. Overall, the classification of berries is still somewhat chaotic, according to Jernstedt.
"Scientists feel the same way. There’s always an attempt to apply some rules to fruit classification. But this has been going on for centuries, so don’t worry, it will be sorted out soon," she concluded.