Is an orange a berry? (Yes! Answer Explained!)

With all the fruits and berries out in the world, oranges are surely unique when we look at their definition. And it might even surprise you to know that orange is a berry. Yes, my friends, even I was shocked when I found out the truth about oranges.

But we all consider oranges as a fruit since oranges don’t have any major similarities with berries. This article is targeted to solve your queries. So read until the end to know all the truth about oranges.

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here is the brief answer to Is an orange a berry or fruit?

We live under a great lie that orange is fruit, whereas orange is actually a berry. I know it must be a shock to hear that orange is a berry, but let’s look into the scientific explanations to make things clear. 

Specifically, orange is a berry. Orange is a subcategory of berries called a hesperidium. And just like berries, oranges also have a fleshy area under the protected skin and many seeds inside. And just like berries, oranges have properties that make them taste sweet or sour.

Just like an orange banana is also a berry. But unfortunately, strawberry is not a berry even though it is more berry-like. 

What qualifies a fruit as a berry?

A simple definition of berries is small-sized and fleshy fruits edible. Berries can have a sweet or sour taste and may have few or many seeds.

More importantly, berries develop from a flower and from a single seed that can have multiple seeds inside the flesh when grown.

But there is a catch!

Not all tiny and fleshy fruits cannot be called berries. For example, blackberries and raspberries cannot be called berries as they are fruits that have other fruits attached to them. We call them aggregate fruits, fruits with the same fruit connected to them and many seeds. 

Among all the berries available to us, they can be separated into two groups of berries. One is called “hesperidium.” In this group, some berries have a citrusy taste or citrus fruits—for example, an orange.

Another group is “Cucurbitaceae.” These are a part of flowering plants and contain less nutrients than the other berries group.

In addition, Cucurbitaceae is sensitive to low temperatures and temperature close to freezing makes it harder for this group of berries to cultivate and harvest. 

What kind of fruit is orange?

Orange is a citrus fruit enriched with vitamin C. Orange is preferred by most people, especially those who like the sour taste on their tongues. Orange falls under the Rutaceae family. The Rutaceae family has their high names for almost round and edible fleshy fruits.

Out of many other plant species, an orange tree grows from a shrub till a small tree when it starts bearing fruits. So not only oranges but fruits like grapefruit and lemon are also citrus fruits. 

Fruits are divided into 2 categories. They are fresh fruit and dry fruit. Fresh fruits are those that can be ripe or raw and yet edible. 

Fresh fruit

Fresh fruits often have soft to semi-soft flesh, which may or may not be watery. For example, watermelon and orange are watery fruits, while guava and apples are not enriched with water. Fresh fruits have unique and beautiful colors. 

Dry fruit 

Dry fruits are the hard and preserved version of fresh fruits. Fruits that only grow in certain seasons can run out along with the preferred season for that fruit to grow.

And luckily, dry fruits are there to solve this problem. Dry fruits are the preserved version of fresh fruit, and unlike fresh fruits, they are hard to chew. Since they are dried, they are as dry as a rock. Dry fruits are often given as a gift to relatives.

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Conclusion

Fruits and berries are one of the best gifts from nature. They are both rich and tasty yet provide us with many necessary nutrients.

Although fruits have their differences from berries since there are varieties of fruits, you get to taste fruits of different tastes, shapes, sizes, and colors.

But for berries, you are limited with fewer options. Although berries are not that well known as fruits, they can be used to make different dessert items and recipes.

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