Fruit tree

A fruit tree is a tree bearing fruit — the structures formed by the ripened ovary of a flower containing one or more seeds. However, because all trees of flowering plants produce fruit (essentially all trees except tree ferns and gymnosperms), the term in horticultural usage applies to trees providing fruit as human food. Types of fruits are described and defined elsewhere (see Fruit), but would include fruit in a culinary sense as well as some nut bearing trees, like walnuts .

Temperate fruits

Fruits of temperate climates are almost always 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 Neolithictimes.

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:

See also

• Forest garden
• Fruit tree forms
• Fruit tree pollination
• Fruit tree propagation
• Orchards
• Pruning