Contents
Plum is a well-known fruit tree found in every second summer cottage. Delicious preserves and jams are made from its fruits, and they are also consumed fresh. At the same time, many people ask: is a plum a berry or a fruit? Let’s put everything on the shelves.
Cultural history
This culture began to grow in ancient times, as well as olives, figs, apples and cherry plums. Plums were used to make jams, sauces and even alcohol. Contrary to popular belief, the culture in question is both a tree and a shrub at the same time.
Depending on the variety, the height of a tree (or bush) reaches from 2 to 6 m, although there are exceptions.
The fruit appears in place of the flower after its fertilization and accumulates nutrients. When ripe, it becomes juicy and soft, and a medium-sized hard bone forms inside. The fruits are used even in folk medicine, as they are rich in vitamins and trace elements.
Prunes are also rich in useful trace elements and are used in dietary nutrition.
Now varieties of plums are grown in every corner of the planet.
Video “Useful properties of plums”
From this video you will learn how plum is useful for the human body.
Plum is a berry or fruit
There is a lot of disagreement about what a plum is. This dispute does not make sense, since the first concept (berries) is broader in meaning and already includes the second (fruits). Thus, it is correct to define a plum as a fruit, however, if you designate it as a berry, this will not be considered a severe error.
Why berry
In the scientific sense, this fruit belongs to the drupes. However, the latter concept is included in the definition of what we call fruit fruits. That is why, even calling plum fruits, we automatically classify them as berries too. In fact, this approach is more everyday, since from a scientific point of view, it would be more correct to use the term “drupe”. Although here the fact that this plant can be a shrub too is misleading, and they are usually berry.
Why fruit
This concept is the broadest, since it combines two main types, which we have already discussed earlier. The culture we are interested in has juicy pulp and only one hard bone, while the berries have many seeds and are smaller in size. Therefore, it is correct to call the fruits of this plant precisely drupes. But it is also fruit trees, as this definition covers all varieties of sweet and juicy fruits.
So, now you know for sure that, from a botanical point of view, a plum is a drupe. But due to confusion in concepts, in everyday life it is often called a berry, and there is no gross mistake in this.