Why Pumpkins Are Fruits and Other Cool Botany
Think you know what a fruit is?

Most people think of fruit as being sweet or tart, juicy or crunchy, or peel-able like a banana—but none of that matters, botanically speaking (and that’s what we speak here at the Chicago Botanic Garden). The way botanists see it, fruits are made by flowering plants and contain seeds. So pumpkins are fruits. What about tomatoes? Yep.

Feeling groovy on the fruit-or-not question now? Take the Fruit Pursuit quiz below.

Is This a Fruit?

Click on each picture for the answer.