Site Map » Basic Food Groups / Nutrition » Fruits

Fruits are one of the basic food groups. Fruits include temperate fruits, cacti, melons, Mediterranean, subtropical, and tropical fruits.

Temperate fruits ~ Cacti Fruits ~ False Fruits ~ Melons
Mediterranian and Subtropical Fruits ~ Tropical Fruits

Cacti Fruits

Several cacti yield edible fruits, which are important traditional foods for some Native American peoples:

• Prickly pear
• Saguaro

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)

The false fruits are not botanically fruits at all but are used as fruits in the kitchen:

• 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

In the important genus Citrus some members are tropical, tolerating no frost. All common species of commerce are somewhat hardy:

• Citron
• Grapefruit and its predecesor the pummelo (also known as the shaddock)
• Kumquat
• 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

Other subtropical fruits:

• Feijoa (Feijoa sellowiana or Acca sellowiana)
• Guava (Psidium guajava)
• Longan (Euphoria longan)
• Lychee (Litchi chinensis)
• Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis and other Passiflora spp.)
• Tamarillo (Cyphomandra betacea)

Tropical fruits

Tropical fruit grow on plants of all habits. The only characteristic that they share is an intolerance of frost.

• Acerola cherry (Malpighia glabra)
• Akee (Blighia sapida)
• Banana and its starchy variant the plantain (Musacea spp.)
• Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)
• CamuCamu (Myrciaria dubia))
• Cempedak (Artocarpus champeden)
• Cherimoya (Annona cherimola), also called "custard apple"
• Coconut (Cocos spp.)
• Durian (Durio zibethinus)
• Guarana (Paullinia cupana))
• Guava
• Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), also called nangka
• Langsat (Lansium domesticum), also called longkong or duku
• Lychee
• Mamoncillo (Melicoccus bijugatus), also known as the quenepa or genip
• Mango (Mangifera indica)
• Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)
• Papaya (Carica papaya)
• Passion fruit
• Pepino, also called: pepino melon, treemelon, bush melon, mellowfruit
• 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
• Sapote
• Soursop (Annona muricata)
• Star Fruit (Averrhoa carambola), also called by the botanical name Carambola
• Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
• Tarap
• Wax apple

Temperate fruits ~ Cacti Fruits ~ False Fruits ~ Melons
Mediterranian and Subtropical Fruits ~ Tropical Fruits