Simply put, a berry is a fleshy fruit. However, botanically speaking, it is defined as a fruit with a fleshy, edible pericarp, or fruit wall, that originates from a single piston and encases one or many seeds. In the botanical sense, a tomato is a berry and a strawberry is not. However, many fruits that are otherwise classified in botany are more widely accepted as berries my most people.
Examples of true berries are the grape, tomato, persimmon, papaya, and pomegranate. Though commonly considered to be berries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and boysenberries technically belong to different groups. To eliminate confusion, common speech and culinary use define a berry as any small, sweet or juicy fruit.
A berry-bearing plant is classified as bacciferous. The fruit is generally bright in color and contrasts with the green of the plant from which they grow. This is nature’s way of self-preservation, as the berries are attractive to animals, which in turn eat them, digest the fruit, and expel the seed elsewhere in their waste. Similarly, the berry is attractive to people, especially young children, though some are toxic to humans.
The holly, yew, and mistletoe are examples of bacciferous plants that yield poisonous berries. If children consume more than three to five from a holly or yew, they can become violently ill with vomiting and diarrhea. The best way to avoid having a child eat a poisonous berry is to become familiar with all plants growing around a home and warn children of eating things when they don’t know what they are.
From a culinary standpoint, berries of many kinds and classifications make excellent ingredients for pies and other baked goods. Their sweet flavor and fleshy texture works nicely in fruit pies, spreads, and toppings for ice cream, or as an additive to pancakes, muffins, and crepes. Many are good by themselves as a healthy snack. The most commonly consumed berries are strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, and they contain many vitamins and nutrients. Mid-summer is the ideal season for purchasing the ripest berries in supermarkets and farmers' markets.