how can we distinguish between a fruit and vegetable?

Answer 1

Fruit and Seed are strictly BOTANICAL Terms, or Technical terms.

It is not so with the term 'VEGETABLE' .


Vegetable is a culinary term and not botanical one( this is the root cause of the problem).

Any part of a plant can be a vegetable but all vegetables do not qualify for the term fruit.



Now let us look at the question.

In Radish, root and leaves are strictly vegetables only

So also the celery, carrot and beet.

As all the examples mentioned above flower/fruit do not play any role.

In Tomato it is basically a FRUIT. To call it as such or call it a vegetable depends upon how you use it or look at it.
But it develops from a flower and has seeds inside.

This applies to cucumber , squash , corn and green peas are fundamentally fruits. See photos in the links below--

1) http://www.nursesworldmag.com/carousel/i...
In the above there are slices of cucumber with plenty of seeds INSIDE.

2) http://home1.gte.net/web23vhn/veggie-bef...
It shows developing squash fruits on the plant.

3) http://212.227.92.102/img/15027/wm/pd477...
It shows open pea pod with seeds in side.

4) http://www.utextension.utk.edu/fieldcrop...
In this each corn grain is a fruit and seed rolled in one!


FRUITS BEAR SEEDS / SEED IN SIDE THEM AND NEVER OUT SIDE.

In cashew nut what appears fleshy / juicy part is not the fruit but the swollen part of the stalk of the flower or thalamus. The part which is the fruit proper has typical cashew like appearance

See the link below

http://davestravel.com/photos/fruit/cash...

Answer 2

Botanically, fruit is a part of the plant which forms from the flower after fertilisation, which bears seeds. The purpose of the fruit is reproduction. Fruits are usually edible so animals will eat it. Seeds are usually not edible and not tasty and hard. So animals will throw it at some place where it will develope into a new plant. Apple, mango, cucumber, coconut are all fruits.

But at a grocery store you may find different classifications like fruits, vegetables, nuts etc. Here fruits are botanical fruits that are sweet when ripe. Vegetables can be but need not be botanical fruits, can be any part of a plant, and usually not ripe. What you find at the nuts section are either botanical fruits or seeds.

Answer 3

The following is according to a botanist:

"Webster's New World Dictionary (Second Edition) defines a vegetable as a plant that is eaten whole or in part, raw or cooked, generally with a main entree or in a salad but NOT AS A DESSERT. Many vegetables, such as tomatoes and pea pods are technically fruits because they develop from the ovary of a flower (following pollination and double fertilization) and they contain seeds at maturity. Seeds develop from structures called ovules inside the ovary. In order for the ovule to develop into a seed, a minute 7-celled embryo sac inside must be fertilized by two sperm. One sperm unites with the egg to form an embryo. A second sperm unites with two polar nuclei inside the endosperm mother cell to form the food-storage tissue in a seed called endosperm. The following "vegetables" are really botanical fruits, including tomatoes, okra, squash, cucumbers, bean & pea pods, peppers and egg plant. Even a corn grain is technically a fruit (called a caryopsis) because each grain develops from a separate seed-bearing ovary with a long, thread-like style. The "silk" is all the styles collectively from several hundred grains in the ear. Since they are typically eaten with a main entree (not as a dessert), all these botanical fruits are also called vegetables.

"In terms of the universe, life, and the pursuit of happiness, this controversy between a fruit and a vegetable is really not that significant or important; however, you are still probably wondering what in the heck is a true botanical vegetable? A botanical vegetable may be defined as any edible "non-fruit" part of a plant. They are NOT ripened, seed-bearing ovaries formed by intimate sexual encounters between plants or between plants and insect pollinators..."

Spoken like a true botanist. Oh, wait, that was from a botanist!!

All text material & images on these pages copyright © W.P. Armstrong.

Answer 4

The difference between friuts and vegetables generally is determined by the vitamin C content, I believe. For example:Tomato is technically a fruit because of its Vitamin C, but we usually group it with vegetables.If we use this ruler to determine the difference between a fruit and a vegetable we find that most of the roots and tubers: potatoes, carrots, beets,and many of the above ground "fruits" such as zucchini, pumpkins, green beans, eggplant can readily be classified as vegetables and then oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries, and those tomatoes fall in the fruit catagory.
I think that the teacher allowed her self to try to find an easy definition. We talk about the fruits of the Earth and we talk about vegetation. When we talk about humanly edible things we are using only part of the whole realm.
I hope this helps you with your first grader.

Answer 5

The basic difference is that vegetables are mostly cultivated while fruits could also be found in abundance in the natural habitats, like forests, mountains and so on.
Vegetables need cooking to taste better.
Vegetables generally grow in herbs while fruits are mostly from trees.
Sometimes the raw form is a vegetable while the ripe form of the same is considered fruit. Example, raw mango, plantains are considered vegetable while the ripe form of the same are fruits.

Answer 6

A fruit is actually the seed pod of the plant, and develops from the flower..
A vegatable is part of either the root or the stem of the plant. Of course there are exceptions. For example, although rhubarb is part of the stem, it is regarded as a fruit.

Answer 7

Fruits are a way for the plant to reproduce and spread its genes.
Vegetables do not serve that purpose.

Fruits are usually sweet.
Vegetables are usually tasteless by themselves.

Fruits are flowers without petals.
Vegetables are either stems or roots of a plant.

Answer 8

A fruit has seeds ut a vegetable doesn't have.
Hope you will rate as the best answer!

Answer 9

a vegetable is a seed, leaf, stem, modified stem, root, modified leaf, or some non-seed-bearing edible part of the plant.
A fruit is the seed-bearing part of a plant
In common usage, those fruits which are commonly used in salads are also called vegetables, e.g., squash, cucumber, tomato, et cetera.

Answer 10

Fruits are used directly whereas vegetables are used after cooking. Salt is not necessary for fruits but salt is necessary for veg.
Fruits are normally on trees whereas veg. are normally on ground, small plants, tehni etc.
Birds eat fruits whereas animals eat veg. (fact but treat it only joke)
Fruits used for offering, prayers but veg. not used for that purpose.