fruto

Fruto is the mature ovary of a flowering plant, together with the tissues that develop with it, forming the structure that typically encases seeds after fertilization. In botanical terms, a fruit is the product of the plant’s reproductive system and serves to protect seeds and aid their dispersal. In Spanish, fruto corresponds to the concept of fruit; in everyday language, fruta is often used for edible fruit, while fruto emphasizes the reproductive structure.

Fruits are classified by their development and structure. Simple fruits originate from a single ovary; aggregate fruits come from multiple ovaries of a single flower; multiple fruits arise from the ovaries of several flowers. They can be fleshy (such as peaches, grapes, and apples) or dry (such as nuts, peas, and capsules). They may be dehiscent, splitting open at maturity to release seeds, or indehiscent, remaining closed. Some fruits are accessory fruits, where non-ovarian tissue becomes part of the edible fruit—for example, the apple (a pome) and the strawberry, where the fleshy part is primarily from the receptacle rather than the ovary.

Commonly cited examples illustrate diversity: peaches are drupes, grapes are true berries, and apples are pomes. Botanically, many foods regarded as vegetables or culinary staples, such as tomatoes or cucumbers, are fruits because they develop from the ovary and contain seeds.

Fruits play a key ecological role by protecting seeds and enabling dispersal through animals, wind, or water. They are central to plant reproduction and to human nutrition and agriculture, with vast variation in size, texture, and flavor across species.