Birthday
HydrangeasEvery fruit begins as a flower: an apple as a pinkish-white apple blossom, a banana as a huge purple flower cluster, a cornelian cherry as tiny yellow stars that open in early spring before the leaves. That is why fruit is a natural topic for florists, and it has long been a feature of bouquets in its own right. We have gathered ten surprising but verified facts about fruit — no myths about "miracle" properties, just botany, history and legends.
1. Durian, the king of fruits with a banned smell
In Southeast Asia the durian is called the "king of fruits". It is large and covered in sharp spines, with creamy, sweet flesh. But its smell is so strong that some compare it to cheese and onions and others to sewage. That is why durians are banned on Singapore's metro, and many hotels in Asia display signs with a crossed-out durian.
2. Supermarket bananas are almost twins
Nearly all bananas sold in Europe belong to one variety, Cavendish. They are propagated from suckers, so they are almost genetically identical. That makes them vulnerable: in the mid-20th century the previous favourite, Gros Michel, nearly disappeared from trade because of a fungal disease, Panama disease. Today a new strain of the fungus threatens Cavendish, and breeders are looking for resistant varieties. The banana "tree" is actually a giant herb, and botanically a banana is a berry.
3. A strawberry is not a berry
A botanical berry is a fruit that develops from a single ovary and holds its seeds inside the flesh. By that definition, a strawberry is not a berry at all: the juicy part is the swollen receptacle, and the true fruits are the small "seeds" on the surface. Each one is a tiny nut-like achene.
4. But bananas, tomatoes and grapes are berries
Botanically, raspberries and blackberries are aggregate fruits made of drupelets, mulberries are multiple fruits, and cherries and plums are drupes. True berries include grapes, blueberries, currants, kiwi, bananas, tomatoes and even aubergines. Pome fruits — apples, pears and quince — are relatives of the rose: they all belong to the rose family.
5. A ripe orange can be green
An orange turns orange when cool nights break down the green chlorophyll in its peel. In tropical countries with warm nights, ripe oranges often stay green or yellow-green. For export they are sometimes treated with ethylene to give the peel the "right" colour. Incidentally, the orange is a hybrid of pomelo and mandarin and does not exist in the wild.
6. The cornelian cherry that "outwitted" the devil
The cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) is one of the first shrubs to bloom in spring: its yellow flowers open in March on bare branches and give bees their first nectar. A folk legend known in Crimea and the Caucasus surrounds it. In one version, when God was handing out plants, the devil asked for the cornelian cherry, reasoning that since it flowers first, it would ripen first too. But its fruit is among the last to ripen, in late summer and autumn, and the devil, tired of waiting, angrily gave up on the "trickster".
7. The watermelon was the desert's water flask
A watermelon is more than 90 per cent water. Its ancestors come from Africa, and in arid regions the fruits of wild melons served people as a water supply in the dry season for centuries. Watermelons were grown in ancient Egypt: their seeds have been found in pharaohs' tombs, including Tutankhamun's.
8. Apples float and are related to roses
The apple tree belongs to the rose family, together with roses, pears, cherries and plums, which is why its flowers look so much like wild rose blossoms. More than 7,000 apple varieties are known worldwide. Apples float because about a quarter of their volume is air — the basis of the old autumn game of bobbing for apples.
9. Chimpanzees share "forbidden fruit"
Researchers observing wild chimpanzees near the village of Bossou in Guinea noticed that males make risky raids on farm fields to take papayas grown by people. They then share this "forbidden fruit" with females. Scientists believe it helps the males strengthen social bonds in the group.
10. Guarana, the "eyes" of the Amazon
Guarana is an Amazonian climbing plant whose ripe fruits split open so that the dark seed in white pulp looks like an eye. The Sateré-Mawé people have a legend that guarana grew from the eyes of a child who had died. Guarana seeds contain more caffeine than coffee beans, which is why it is used in energy drinks.
Fruit in floristry
Fruit has long been part of flower arrangements: apples and pomegranates in autumn baskets, tangerines in Christmas bouquets, blueberries and guelder rose berries in wedding buttonholes. For colour combination ideas, see fruit and vegetables by colour, and for bouquets where food replaces flowers, see unusual bouquet ideas.
Frequently asked questions
Why isn't a strawberry a berry?
Because its flesh is a swollen receptacle, and the true fruits are the tiny achenes on the surface.
Which fruits are actually berries?
Grapes, blueberries, currants, kiwi, bananas, as well as tomatoes and aubergines.
Why are some oranges green?
In warm climates without cool nights, the chlorophyll in the peel does not break down, so the ripe fruit stays green.
Why can't you take durian on the Singapore metro?
Because of its very strong smell, which spreads quickly in enclosed spaces.
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Author: Maria Svitlovir
Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.
