 | This article relies on a single source. (August 2025) |
The term compound fruit is not used in technical botanical writing, but is sometimes used when it is not clear which of several fruit types is involved. A compound fruit is "composed of two or more similar parts".
A compound fruit may be:
- An aggregate fruit, in which one flower contains several separate ovaries, which merge during development.
- A multiple fruit, in which several flowers, each with an ovary, develop into small fruits that are clustered or fused together into a larger fruit.
- A simple fruit formed from a compound ovary.
A raspberry is an aggregate fruit (shown with a raspberry beetle larva)
A pineapple is a multiple fruit
A tomato is a simple fruit derived from a compound ovary
Grapes grow in clusters, but are not compound fruits. Each grape is grown from one ovary in one flower, and each grape remains an independent fruit.
