EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Botanically, pumpkin is a fruit.

Detailed explanation-2: -A pumpkin, from a botanist’s perspective, is a fruit because it’s a product of the seed-bearing structure of flowering plants.

Detailed explanation-3: -Pumpkin fruits are a type of botanical berry known as a pepo. Characteristics commonly used to define “pumpkin” include smooth and slightly ribbed skin, and deep yellow to orange color. White, green, and other pumpkin colors also exist.

Detailed explanation-4: -They are a part of the Cucurbitaceae family, along with other squash like zucchini and butternut. Fruits grow from the flowering part of the plant and hold seeds in their flesh, so although the pumpkins we see at Halloween aren’t naturally sweet, they’re fruit just the same.

Detailed explanation-5: -pumpkin, fruit of certain varieties of squash-such as varieties of Cucurbita pepo, C. moschata, and C. maxima-in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), usually characterized by a hard orange rind with distinctive grooves.