KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN USE

KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN USE
When is a fruit not a fruit? Or, You can’t always trust your government when it comes to botany.

Question 18.13

Q: What is a fruit? A fruit is defined as a structure that aids in dispersing seeds—it is the reproductive packet that is made up of the embryo, some food reserves, and a hard coat, and usually develops from the ovary, right around the seeds, which develop from the ovules. This should cause you to look at a field of flowers differently: the ovary is part of every flower, so all the flowers you see, after they are pollinated and fertilized, turn into fruits. Or conversely: every fruit you eat used to be a flower.

Question 18.14

Q: How do fruits differ from vegetables? Vegetables, unlike fruits, are simply edible parts of a plant that develop from structures other than the reproductive structures—and hence do not have seeds.

Question 18.15

Q: Get your laws out of my salad! In 1893, in a bizarre legal case at the intersection of law and biology, the U.S. Supreme Court made a foray into botany. It started when the U.S. government instituted a 10% tax on all vegetables imported into the country. Fruits, on the other hand, were not subject to any tariffs. The tax collector then tried to collect from a company that imported tomatoes. The company refused to pay, however, arguing that tomatoes are fruits.

Question 18.16

But sometimes, a fruit is not a fruit. Here is what the Supreme Court ruled: “Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas. But in the common language of the people … all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and … usually served at dinner … or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert.” And so it was decided: tomatoes would be taxed and, in the eyes of the law, they are vegetables.

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