Did you know that bananas are berries, technically. As in it's a fleshy fruit containing seeds.
Um, this also to maybe clear some of the uncertainty concerning el tomato.. yep, like the melon as well.. a berry.
To expand on this and to increase your knowledge and chances of winning a bar bet:
In botanical language, a berry is a simple fruit having seeds and pulp produced from a single ovary; the ovary can be inferior or superior.
Examples of botanical berries include:
Avocado (Persea americana) a one-seeded berry
Banana
Barberry (Berberis; Berberidaceae)
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos spp.)
Blueberry
Coffee berries
Cranberry
Crowberry (Empetrum spp.)
Currant (Ribes spp.; Grossulariaceae), red, black, and white types
Elderberry (Sambucus niger; Caprifoliaceae)
Gooseberry (Ribes spp.; Grossulariaceae)
Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica)
Grape, Vitis vinifera
Honeysuckle: the berries of some species are edible and are called honeyberries, but others are poisonous (Lonicera spp.; Caprifoliaceae)
Cowberry/Lingonberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Persimmon
Mayapple (Podophyllum spp.; Berberidaceae)
Nannyberry or sheepberry (Viburnum spp.; Caprifoliaceae)
Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium; Berberidaceae)
Pumpkin
Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), not to be confused with the actual strawberry (Fragaria)
Tomato and other species of the family Solanaceae
Watermelon
Wolfberry
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Modified berries - The fruit of citrus, such as the orange, kumquat and lemon, is a berry with a thick rind and a very juicy interior that is given the special name hesperidium.
Berries which develop from an inferior ovary are sometimes termed epigynous berries or false berries, as opposed to true berries which develop from a superior ovary. In epigynous berries, the berry includes tissue derived from parts of the flower besides the ovary. The floral tube, formed from the basal part of the sepals, petals and stamens can become fleshy at maturity and is united with the ovary to form the fruit. Common fruits that are sometimes classified as epigynous berries include bananas, coffee, members of the genus Vaccinium (e.g., cranberries and blueberries), and members of the family Cucurbitaceae (e.g., cucumbers, melons and squash).[1]
Another specialized term is also used for Cucurbitaceae fruits, which are modified to have a hard outer rind, and are given the special name pepo. While pepos are most common in the Cucurbitaceae, the fruits of Passiflora and Carica are sometimes also considered pepos.[2]
Many fruits commonly referred to as berries are not actual berries by the scientific definition, but fall into one of the following categories:
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Drupes - Drupes are fleshy fruits produced from a (usually) single-seeded ovary with a hard stony layer (called the endocarp) surrounding the seed.
Olive
Plum
Peach
Cherry
Hackberry (Celtis spp.; Cannabaceae)
Bayberry
Other drupe-like fruits with a single seed, that lack the stony endocarp include:
Sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides; Elaeagnaceae) An achene surrounded by the hypanthium, which provides the fleshy layer
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Pomes - The pome fruits produced by plants in subtribe Pyrinae of family Rosaceae, such as apples and pears, have a structure (the core) that clearly separates the seeds from the ovary tissue. However, some of the smaller pomes are sometimes referred to as berries. Bright red haws from Crataegus are sometimes called hawberries. Amelanchier pomes become so soft at maturity that they resemble a blueberry and are known as Juneberries or Saskatoon berries.
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Aggregate fruits - Alaska wild "berries" from the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge, a mixture of true berries and aggregate fruits
Aggregate fruits contain seeds from different ovaries of a single flower. Examples include blackberry and raspberry.
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tiple fruits - Multiple fruits include the fruits of multiple flowers that are merged or packed closely together. The mulberry is a berry-like example of a multiple fruit; it develops from a cluster of tiny separate flowers that become compressed as they develop into fruit.[3]
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Accessory fruits - In accessory fruits, the edible part is not generated by the ovary. Berry-like examples include:
Strawberry - the aggregate of seed-like achenes is actually the "fruit", derived from an aggregate of ovaries, and the fleshy part develops from the receptacle.
Gurbir, Duchesnea indica - structured just like a strawberry
Sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera; Polygonaceae) - the fruit is a dry capsule surrounded by fleshy calyx
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) - the fruit is a dry capsule surrounded by fleshy calyx
