From Seed to Seed:
Plant Science for K-8 Educators

Digging Deeper

Types of Fruits

There are four basic types of fruits: simple, aggregate, multiple, and accessory fruits. Most fruits develop from a single pistil on a single flower and are, therefore, simple fruits. Examples of simple fruits include tomato, plum, milkweed pod and peapod. An aggregate fruit is the product of a single flower that contains more than one ovary. As the ovaries mature, they fuse together to form a single fruit. Raspberry is an example of an aggregate fruit.

When many flowers grow close to one another on a shared flower stalk and the ovaries from these different flowers fuse together at maturity, a multiple fruit is created. Pineapple is a multiple fruit. Accessory fruits are composed of other flower tissues in addition to ovary tissue. An apple is an example of an accessory fruit.

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