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Fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables

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This one has been wrecking my head for a while and I don't know why! Can someone tell me the definition of a fruit and the definition of a vegetable?!

Afterwards, can you tell me what a tomato is and why?!

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A tomato is definitely a fruit but I'm not sure why.

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Originally posted by martin williams
A tomato is definitely a fruit but I'm not sure why.
That's what I've been told too but I can't find a reasonable answer why!

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Try www.wikipedia.com
It's a pretty good online encyclopaedia.

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from what i remember, fruits have seeds while vegtables are seeds...not quite positive though though.

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Originally posted by genius
from what i remember, fruits have seeds while vegtables are seeds...not quite positive though though.
Fruits grow of the ploant and contain the seeds whereas vegetables to to be the plant or root.

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Vegetables can also be leaves or roots.
But I think you're right about the seeds thing.
Although...what does this mean about squash?

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Originally posted by genius
from what i remember, fruits have seeds while vegtables are seeds...not quite positive though though.
Yeah, if you think about what a fruit is, it forms from a flower which is fertilised, and the fruit grows.
So things like pumpkins, aubergines, marrows, tomatoes are fruit.

But why is it fruit and not fruits?

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Originally posted by KingThrone
Afterwards, can you tell me what a tomato is and why?!
A tomato is sometimes called a 'love apple' and everyone knows an apple is a fruit, so a tomato must be to! Fairly conclusive, I think you will agree.

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From Ask Dr Dictionary at Dictionary.com:

"A fruit is actually the sweet, ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant. A vegetable, in contrast, is an herbaceous plant cultivated for an edible part (seeds, roots, stems, leaves, bulbs, tubers, or nonsweet fruits). So, to be really nitpicky, a fruit could be a vegetable, but a vegetable could not be a fruit."