The fruit is the mature ovary and its associated parts. This unique covering of the seeds of flowering plants gives this group of plants their name: angiosperms. Fruits are formed by the enlargement and maturation of the pistil. Common examples of fruits include apples, oranges, grapefruits, lemons, grapes, peaches, plums, cherries, pineapples, and pears. Commonly, when people think about fruits, they think only of the fleshy and flavored fruits. In the botanical sense, however, any flowering plant that produces seeds also produces a fruit that contains the seed. Using the botanical definition, a number of so-called vegetables are actually fruits, including green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, beans, and even such grains as corn, rice, and wheat. Fruits may also be hardened, such as walnuts, pecans, acorns, and coconuts. Horticulturalists define fruit crops as those that bear fleshy and flavored fruits. These fruit crops are grown on trees that...