Fruits With Seeds Outside

Fruits with seeds outside are the fruits that keep their seeds free from the fleshy pulp of the fruit. Most of these are climacteric and carpatropic plants. Fruits having seeds outside the fruit is universal among major fruit groups. Fleshy fruits with their seeds in outer layer are common in major angiosperm families: Rosaceae (eg. Peaches, Cherries), Salicaceae (eg. Willows, Poplars), Aceraceae (eg. Maples), Juglandaceae (eg. Walnuts).

What Fruit Has Seeds on the Outside?

Strawberries have seeds on the outside.

The strawberry is unique in the fruit world and not only because it looks and tastes so good. It is the only kind of fruit that has what appears to be seeds on the outside. However, botanical experts say that they are not actually seeds.

Fruits With Seeds on the Outside

Every strawberry has more than 200 brownish “seeds” on its surface, but botanists know that these features are really something else. Strawberry plants produce flowers, which are then pollinated. The fertilized ovaries within the flowers then separate into small, dry fruits (achenes) that appear on the red surfaces. Each of these contains one separate seed. Another example of a plant with achenes is the sunflower.

Interestingly, the familiar and fleshy red part of the strawberry is a “swollen receptacle tissue” that connects the plant’s flowers to its stems. Once the flowers are pollinated, the receptacle tissues change and begin to grow and expand into the familiar triangular shape. Experts disagree as to why the achenes are on the outside rather than inside the strawberries. Some believe that it makes them more attractive to the animals who consume them.

The achenes then become waste products that enter the environment, helping the plants to reproduce and flourish. Another theory is that being on the outside makes the achenes easier to spread. They do not have to be eaten and excreted; they can get stuck on fur or feathers and get moved about in that fashion. Achenes can even stick onto clothing and shoes.

What Exactly Is Fruit?

Fruits are defined as mature, ripened ovaries of flowers. Once the flower is fertilized and pollinated, its ovaries mature and ripen. The flower’s structural layers change, the petals drop off and the ovaries increase in size. Not all fruits are edible, not all are sweet and they come in many different shapes and forms. The main role of fruit is to spread the plant’s seeds to help it reproduce.

Are you wondering how the field of botany classifies types of fruits? First is aggregate fruit, like strawberries, which develop from one flower that has many pistils. Drupe fruit has one seed, fleshy fruit and a hard covering – think coconuts, peaches and olives. Pome fruits are formed under the flowers’ receptacles, and two examples of these are apples and pears.

When several flowers join together, you see multiple fruits, such as the pineapple. Grains, such as rice and barley, are also similar since they have both fruit and seed joined together. Another classification is berry fruits, which does not include strawberries.

Types of Berries

It’s true: Botanists do not consider strawberries, blackberries and raspberries as true berries. Real berries are formed from an ovary of one flower, with small seeds embedded within the fleshy fruit. Examples of true berries include:

• Blueberries
• Cranberries
• Grapes
• Gooseberries
• Bananas
• Peppers
• Tomatoes

The big three (strawberries, blackberries and raspberries) are in the aggregate fruit category (one flower, many pistils). All three have achenes. Interestingly, quinoa, buckwheat, buttercup, caraway and cannabis are all examples of achenes. Another interesting botany fact is that although we call cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers vegetables, all are technically fruit, and so are maple keys, acorns and the outside of sunflower seeds.

6 FRUITS AND VEGETABLES THAT AREN’T WHAT THEY SEEM

WATERMELON

Berries aren’t necessarily small. Technically speaking, a berry is a subset of fruit in which multiple viable seeds of the fruit are embedded and scattered throughout its edible flesh. This means that the massive watermelon, with its little black and white seeds spread throughout its pink flesh, is technically speaking, a berry.

STRAWBERRIES, RASPBERRIES, BLACKBERRIES

Oddly enough, these three fruits that actually have the word “berry” in their names…aren’t really berries. A strawberry is an enlarged end of a stem, embedded on the outside with seeds. The same is true for raspberries and blackberries. Seeds on the outside means they aren’t berries.

CHILI PEPPERS

Like a watermelon, its seeds are spread throughout. A chili pepper is a berry.

Looking for more trivia? Uncle John’s Factual and Actual Bathroom Reader contains 512 pages of all-new articles that will appeal to readers everywhere. Pop culture, history, dumb crooks, and other actual and factual tidbits are packed onto every page of this book.

AVOCADOES

Fruits don’t have to be sweet. The tomato is technically a fruit because it is the fleshy product of a plant that contains seeds and is edible. The same is true for avocadoes, which means that guacamole is really just a fruit salad (or even a smoothie).

VEGETABLES

While fruit has a very specific definition, what makes a vegetable is up for debate. It’s generally thought of as anything plant-based that can be eaten, and at least in the West, isn’t terribly sweet.

CARROTS

Carrots are among the sweetest “vegetables,” but the one thing everyone thinks they know about carrots isn’t true. They are healthy (they’re especially rich in vitamin A) but they really don’t improve eyesight. During World War II, the Royal Air Force was using radar to find Nazi war planes, but they didn’t want the Nazis to know that. So, the British government spread a bit of propaganda claiming that fighter pilot John Cunningham had 20/20 vision, even at night, because he ate lots of carrots. (It also led to much more enthusiastic eating of carrots grown in “Victory Gardens.”)

Top ten easy to grow fruit trees and plants

Create your own homegrown orchard by planting these easy to grow fruit trees & plants
Image: Thompson & Morgan

You don’t need an orchard to grow your own fruit at home. Apple trees and strawberries, rhubarb and figs will all thrive in a British garden.

If space is limited, try growing your fruit in containers. Did you know you can even plant strawberries in hanging baskets? Here’s our infographic showcasing ten easy to grow fruits. Head to the bottom of the page for the full infographic, or scroll through the list for a bit more information about each one. These are our ten favourite fruits that are ideal for beginners:

Read on to find out why each of these fruits won a place in our coveted top ten. And for even more inspiration, browse our full range of fruit trees and soft fruit plants.

1. Strawberries

Strawberries are perfect for containers

Nothing beats the sweet, juicy flavour of sun-warmed strawberries picked straight from your own strawberry plants. Versatile fruits that thrive in patio containers, hanging baskets, window boxes, or the ground – just make sure you plant them in a sunny position and in well-drained soil. 

Easy strawberry varieties to try: Grow our strawberry full season collection pack for three popular varieties to harvest throughout June and July. And for a pretty, pink-flowered and super sweet variety plant ‘Just Add Cream’ for berries from June to September.

2. Raspberries

Harvest up to 2.5kg of large, deep-red berries from raspberry ‘Polka’

Raspberry plants are vigorous growers that are happy in raised beds, containers or the ground as long as the soil has good drainage and they get plenty of sun. Choose from summer or autumn-fruiting varieties, or plant a combination of both for an extra long harvest season. Just make sure to prune your canes at the right time every year – visit our ‘How To Prune Raspberries’ article for specific advice. 

Easy raspberry varieties to try: A real customer favourite, the autumn-fruiting raspberry ‘Polka’ provides a juicy harvest from July to October. For a summer-fruiting option, the thornless raspberry ‘Glen Coe’ produces a unique purple crop of super sweet fruit. And if you want something for containers, try dwarf Raspberry ‘Yummy’ which grows to just 45cm tall. 

3. Blueberries

Blueberry plants produce clusters of nutrient-dense berries

Blueberry plants are ideal for growing in containers and they look fantastic on the patio where their scented spring flowers and colourful autumn foliage bring seasonal interest. They need moist, acidic soil to thrive, so fill your containers with ericaceous compost and water them with collected rainwater. (Tap water contains lime and reduces the soil acidity over time.) 

Easy blueberry varieties to try: If you just want one bush, go for a self-fertile variety like blueberry ‘Duke’ or the compact self-fertile variety blueberry ‘Top Hat’ which matures at 60cm tall. For something a bit different, try blueberry ‘Pink Sapphire’ which produces clusters of bright pink, super-sweet berries

4. Figs

Soft, juicy figs bring a flavour of the Mediterranean to your garden

Fig trees love sunshine and warmth, so plant them against a hot, sunny south/west facing wall. Because they crop best when their roots are restricted, fig trees make an excellent choice for containers. Protect your figs from deep frost and enjoy the taste of freshly picked, sun-warmed fruits at the end of summer. 

Easy fig varieties to try: The classic fig ‘Brown Turkey’ is ideal for growing in the UK climate and is also self-fertile. For containers, choose the Chelsea Flower Show favourite and naturally dwarfing variety ‘Little Miss Figgy’ which matures at 1.8m tall and can produce a crop twice a year.

5. Gooseberries

Gooseberry ‘Giggles Gold’ is resistant to powdery mildew

Gooseberries are one of the easiest berries to grow as they need very little maintenance beyond occasional watering during fruiting. If you have a shady and unproductive corner of your garden, fill it with gooseberries to make good use of the space. Delicious in cakes, crumbles, jams and cordials – gooseberries can also be eaten straight from the bush. 

Easy gooseberry varieties to try: New gooseberry ‘Giggles Gold’ produces bright golden fruits with excellent sweetness from July to August. Try gooseberry ‘Hinnonmaki Red’ for red-skinned juicy fruits in June and July. Both heavy-cropping bushes produce fruit that’s ideal for cooking.

6. Apples

Apples are a delicious crop with great storage potential
Image: Apple Duo Patio Fruit Tree from Thompson & Morgan

Apple trees produce fruit from mid-summer to late autumn. Plant them in fertile, well-drained soil that sees plenty of sunlight and give your trees a prune during the winter to keep them healthy. Dessert apple varieties are sweet enough to eat straight from the tree, whereas cooking types are great for baking into pies and sauces. Even if you don’t have space for a full-sized tree, you can grow compact dwarf varieties in patio containers.

Easy apple tree varieties to try: For small gardens, go for an apple duo patio fruit tree. This special compact tree has two delicious varieties grafted onto its main stem that pollinate each other. Apple ‘Appletini’ is a compact new self-fertile variety with pink blossom in spring and small red fruits. For perfect apple crumbles, plant the classic apple ‘Bramley’s Seedling’.

7. Blackberries

Blackberries are prolific and colourful fruiters

Blackberries are delicious fruits that grow in sun or shade, and don’t need much attention to produce a bountiful crop of dark, glossy fruits. The sweet berries can be harvested between June and September and are delicious eaten fresh or baked into desserts.

Easy blackberry varieties to try: For small gardens, choose a compact variety like blackberry ‘Black Cascade’ which grows to about 45cm and looks great trailing from a hanging basket. A good child-friendly option, blackberry ‘Apache’ is thornless and sweet. 

8. Honeyberries

Honeyberries are high in antioxidants

Honeyberries are an unusual fruit that are high in nutrients and very sweet. Easy to grow, they’re tough and incredibly hardy plants that need very little attention. For the best yields, grow honeyberries in pairs to increase the potential for pollination. The blueberry-like berries make a delicious treat, straight from the bush. 

Easy honeyberry varieties to try: Lonicera kamtschatica ‘Kalinka’ produces super sweet berries. An ornamental edible, this variety can be planted into flower beds and borders where the scented flowers provide interest in spring. Lonicera kamtschatica ‘Balalaika’ is a good choice for containers, reaching a height and spread of 1m.

9. Goji berries

Goji berries contain lots of vitamins and nutrients

Goji berries are the perfect choice for a windy, coastal garden being fairly hardy and tolerant of salt. Grow your goji berry bush against a south-facing wall, or in a sheltered sunny spot, to give the fruit the best conditions for ripening in August. The ‘superfood’ berries contain vitamin C and protein, tasting sweet and liquorice-like, ideal for adding to smoothies and juices for a delicious start to the day. 

Easy goji berry varieties to try: Goji berry ‘Synthia’ reaches a height and spread of 2m, with berries that show a slightly higher than usual sugar content. Plant the larger goji berry ‘Sweet Lifeberry’ (which reaches a height of 3.5m and a spread of 5m) in a bed with plenty of space to sprawl.

10. Currants

Currant plants come in white, pink, red or black

Currant plants are the perfect soft fruits for decorating desserts, making jams and jellies, or adding to sauces. They freeze well too, so you can savour the taste of summer during the winter months. Expect to see a crop from your bushes in June, July and August. Currant plants are fairly cold tolerant, so they make a great choice for growing in Northern gardens.

Easy currant varieties to try: If you’re tight for space try our redcurrant ‘Rovada’ which stays at 1.2m, perfect for growing in containers. Whitecurrant ‘White Versailles’ is the earliest cropping white currant with super sweet berries and for dark, glossy berries, go for blackcurrant ‘Ben Connan’ which

TROPICAL FRUIT SEEDS

1. CARICA PAPAYAFamily: CARICACEAE | Common name: Carica Papaya, Papaya, Pawpaw, Fruta BombaCarica Papaya, the Papaya, Pawpaw or Fruta Bomba, is a fruit tree that comes from sub-humid tropical regions of South America and Central America, especially Mexico, where, in the open ground it often reaches up to 8 meters high and 4 meters wide. These trees can make extremely attractive specimens with palmed leaves when grown in a large pot indoors. The succulent yellow and green fruits, with yellow-orange pulp and weighing up to 1kg, grow attached to the trunk. Although there are now hybrids that can have both sexes, the male trees have cream flowers whilst the female trees have white-yellowish flowers.
2. CUCAMELONFamily: Cucurbitaceae | Common name: Melothria scabra, Mouse melon, Mexican sour gherkinThese new, rare and absolutely delightful, small Central American fruits look like tiny watermelons but taste of cucumber with a hint of citrus fruit. They can be grown like regular cucumbers and can be trained up canes or wires but are quite pest resistant, hardy enough to grow well outside, drought resistant and contain male and female flowers. Pick the fruit when still firm to the touch.
3. NEWCUSTARD APPLE, ANNONA CHERIMOLAFamily: Annonaceae | Common name: Sugar apple, bullock’s-heart, (ANNONA CHERIMOYA)This superbly tasty fruit, the rarest, and possibly the best of all “Custard Apple” species, has reddish yellow, sweetish and very tasty, soft pulpy flesh, (hence the common name), and is very expensive indeed in UK exotic fruit shops. It is often grown in the West Indies, the outside being intriguingly marked with scaly depressions, giving it a most attractive, almost prehistoric-looking quilted appearance. Very few good sizeable shiny seeds are produced, hence the high price. 
4. DRAGON FRUITFamily: Cactaceae | Common name: Hylocereus undatus”Dragon Fruits” are the fruits of the exotic “PITAHAYA” cactus. This plant can be grown as an ornamental plant indoors, or outside in hot countries, where it will put forth large fragrant white flowers. These in turn produce an almost endless supply of attractive, grapefruit-sized red fruits, with numerous, tiny, rather fascinating, green-tipped red ‘wings’. When the soft, rubbery, inedible skin is cut open, the attractively contrasting, delicately-flavoured white flesh, studded with tiny edible black seeds is revealed, rather similar to “Kiwi Fruits”. These incredibly healthy fruits contain generous servings of vitamin C, along with numerous antioxidants, and are sold in Supermarkets in the UK at very high prices.
5. NEWFIG PURPLEThis is the tree that is grown worldwide to produce plum-sized, juicy, sweet purple/brown figs and although there are hundreds of cultivars this is still a favourite. Fruits will ripen from midsummer onwards in the UK but earlier in warmer countries. These are good, fertile seeds and are ready-stratified for sowing. Fruit from seedlings may vary but all should be superb fruits.
6. GIANT GRANADILLAFamily: Passifloraceae | Common name: Passiflora quadrangularisOne of the most beautiful of the passionflowers, this beauty opens its large, fragrant flowers with deep red petals and a centre crown that contains five rows of numerous white and purple rays. Large leaves hang from stems that are quadrangular in cross section, hence its botanical name. It produces the most enormous fruits of all of the passion fruits, which grow very rapidly, and may weigh up to 4 kg (9 lb) turning to medium yellow when mature. For best fruiting, flowers should be hand pollinated. The ripe fruit is eaten fresh or used in drinks whilst unripe, green fruit is eaten as a vegetable. It is quite hardy, surviving temperatures down to 1°C (35°F) for short periods of time. In warm areas it can be cultivated in home gardens, or it can even be kept as a greenhouse or indoor container plant, and grown in a sunny south-facing window.
7. KIWI FRUIT GOLDENFamily: Actinidiaceae | Common name: Actinidia chinensisThis superb fruit is relatively new on the scene, the golden variety being much sweeter, and the pulp softer, rather like a mushy fruit salad. The fruit has a smoother skin and a small nub or point on one end, whereas the green kiwi is slightly fuzzier, and symmetrically oval, and most people find the smooth skin more palatable. The plants do well to be pruned hard back at the end of each growing season
8. POMEGRANATEFamily: Lythraceae | Common name: Punica granatumThese lovely fruits need no description, being one of the healthiest foods you can eat, providing roughage as well as being sweet and juicy, so people in warmer countries can soon have a long-lived fruit tree in their garden! These plants also make attractive indoor container plants for growers in colder climates
9. POMELOFamily: Rutaceae | Common name: Citrus maxima, Citrus grandis, Pummelo, Shaddock, Citrus costata, Pompelmous.Usually a pale green to yellow when ripe, this amazing fruit is much larger than a grapefruit, with sweet flesh and thick spongy rind. By far the largest citrus in the world, the pummelo can reach 12″ in diameter. Similar in appearance to a large grapefruit, it is native to South and Southeast Asia and is a natural citrus fruit, not a hybrid, and is indeed one of the original citrus species from which the rest of cultivated citrus were produced by hybridisation. The pummelo tree itself bears most attractive white flowers and generally has a somewhat crooked trunk and low, irregular branches. Botanists amongst you may be interested in its large number of names worldwide which are appended below……
10. STAR FRUITFamily: Oxalidaceae | Common name: Averrhoa CarambolaThis very well-known and distinctive fruit has ridges running down its sides, usually five but sometimes more, its cross-section resembling a star. The entire fruit is edible and is usually eaten out of the hand, having a unique thirst-quenching ability like no other. It is also used in cooking, and for relishes, preserves, and juice drinks. The tree needs, above all, good drainage, and will not tolerate being waterlogged. It is popular throughout its native lands in south east Asia, the Southern Pacific, East Asia, and is also cultivated throughout other non-indigenous tropical and sub-tropical areas, such as Latin America, the Caribbean, and the southern parts of the United States. Good fertile seeds are hard to come by.