Here are lists of all the fruits considered edible in some cuisine. Note that many true fruits are considered to be vegetables in the culinary sense (for example, the tomato), and hence do not appear in this article. There exist also many fruits that are edible but for various reasons have not become popular.
Table of contents |
2 Mediterranean and subtropical fruits 3 Tropical fruits 4 Nonedible fruit |
Fruits of temperate climates are almost universally borne on trees or woody shrubs or lianas. They will not grow adequately in the tropics, as they need a period of cold (a chilling requirement) each year before they will flower. The apple, pear, cherry, and plum are the most widely grown and eaten, owing to their adaptability. Many other fruits are important regionally but do not figure prominently in commerce. Many sorts of small fruit on this list are gathered from the wild, just as they were in Neolithic times.
The Family Rosaceae dominates the temperate fruits, both in numbers and in importance. The pome fruits, stone fruits, brambles, and strawberry are all members of Rosaceae.
The pome fruits:
Temperate fruits
- Apricot
- Cherry, sweet, sour, and wild species (Prunus avium)
- Plum, of which there are several domestic and wild species; dried plums are called prunes
- Peach and its variant the nectarine (Prunus persica)
- Hybrids of the preceding species, such as the pluot
- Blackberry, of which there are many species and hybrids, such as dewberry, boysenberry, and loganberry
- Raspberry, several species (genus Rubus)
- Cloudberry
- Wineberry
- Bearberry
- Bilberry or whortleberry
- Blueberry
- Cranberry (Vaccinium)
- Crowberry
- Huckleberry
- Lingonberry
- Barberry
- Currant (Ribes spp.), red, black, and white types
- Elderberry
- Gooseberry
- Honeysuckle: the berries of some species (called honeyberries) are edible, others are poisonous
- Nannyberry or sheepberry (Viburnum spp.)
- Seaberry or sea buckthorn
- Cornelian cherry
- Goumi
- Jujube
- Kiwi fruit or Chinese gooseberry (Actinidium)
- Loquat
- Kumquat
- Persimmon, Diospyros kaki
- Buffaloberry (Shepherdia argenta), which grows wild in the prairies of Canada
- Chokeberry (Aronia spp.)
- Juneberry or saskatoon, which is cultivated in Canada
- Pawpaw
- Persimmon, Diospyros virginiana
Some exceptions to the statement that temperate fruits grow on woody perennials are:
- Melon (Cucumis melo): cantaloupe and other muskmelons, honeydew
- Sunberry or wonderberry (Solanum spp.)
- Watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris)
- Rhubarb
- Strawberry (Frigaria spp.)
Mediterranean and subtropical fruits
Fruits in this category are not hardy to extreme cold, as the preceding temperate fruits are, yet tolerate some frost and may have a modest chilling requirement. Notable among these are natives of the Mediterranean:
- Fig (Ficus spp.)
- Grape, called raisin, sultana, or currant when dried (Vitis)
- Pomegranate
- Date (Phoenix dactylifera)
- Mulberry
- Citron
- Grapefruit and its predecesor the pummelo (also known as the shaddock)
- Key Lime
- Lemon
- Lime (an important hybrid of the Key Lime and the Citron)
- Mandarin, clementine, tangelo, tangerine, and similar
- Orange, of which there are sweet and sour species
- Ugli fruit, a hybrid
- Guava (Psidium guajava)
- Longan (Euphoria longan)
- Lychee (Litchi chinensis)
- Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis)
Tropical fruits
Tropical fruit grow on plants of all habits. The only characteristic that they share is an intolerance of frost.
- Akee (Blighia sapida))
- Banana and its starchy variant the plantain (Musacea spp.)
- Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)
- CamuCamu (Myrciaria dubia))
- Carambola (Averrhoa carambola), also called star fruit
- Cempedak (Artocarpus champeden)
- Custard apple (Annona cherimola), also called cherimoya
- Coconut (Cocos spp.)
- Durian (Durio zibethinus)
- Guarana (Paullinia cupana))
- Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), also called nangka
- Langsat (Lansium domesticum), also called longkong or duku
- Mamoncillo (Melicoccus bijugatus), also known as the quenepa or genip
- Mango (Mangifera indica)
- Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)
- Papaya (Carica papaya)
- Pineapple (Ananas comosus)
- Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum)
- Rose apple (Syzygium aquem), also called Malay apple
- Salak (Salacca edulis), also called snakefruit
- Sapodilla (Achras/Manilkara zapota), also called chiku
- Soursop (Annona muricata)
- Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
Nonedible fruit
See also