Compound fruit facts for kids

A compound fruit is a special kind of fruit that is made up of two or more similar parts. Sometimes, it's called this when it's hard to tell exactly what type of fruit it is. Think of it like a puzzle where many small pieces come together to form one big picture!

A raspberry is an aggregate fruit.

A pineapple is a multiple fruit.

Types of Compound Fruits

Compound fruits can be divided into different types based on how they grow.

Aggregate Fruits

An aggregate fruit forms from a single flower that has many separate ovaries. Each ovary develops into a small fruitlet, and all these fruitlets then join together to form one larger fruit.

• A great example of an aggregate fruit is a raspberry. Each tiny bump on a raspberry is a small fruitlet that came from a different ovary in the same flower.

Multiple Fruits

A multiple fruit forms from several different flowers that are very close together. Each flower has its own ovary, and these ovaries develop into small fruits. As they grow, these small fruits merge or grow very tightly together to form one big fruit.

• A pineapple is a perfect example of a multiple fruit. If you look closely at a pineapple, you can see the pattern of many small, individual fruits that have fused together.

Simple Fruits from Compound Ovaries

Sometimes, a fruit is called "compound" if it's a simple fruit (meaning it comes from a single flower) but that flower had a "compound ovary." A compound ovary is an ovary made up of several parts that have fused together.

• A tomato is an example of a simple fruit that comes from a compound ovary. Even though it's one fruit, its internal structure shows it developed from several fused parts.

Why Grapes Are Not Compound Fruits

Grapes grow in clusters, which might make them look like compound fruits. However, each grape grows from its own separate flower and its own single ovary. The grapes are not attached to each other; they just grow close together on a stem. This means grapes are actually simple fruits, not compound ones.

Images for kids

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  A tomato is a simple fruit derived from a compound ovary.