Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
Is Capsicum a Fruit or a Vegetable?
Is Capsicum a Fruit or a Vegetable?. The capsicum plant produces edible peppers, which are fruit to a botanist and vegetables to a cook. All pepper plants are capsicums. Different species grow pods ranging from large and sweet to small and hot.
The capsicum plant produces edible peppers, which are fruit to a botanist and vegetables to a cook. All pepper plants are capsicums. Different species grow pods ranging from large and sweet to small and hot.
Botany
Capsicum plants produce pods which contain their seeds. Any seed-containing part of a plant is its fruit. The pepper pod is strictly a berry, because it contains more than one seed. Botanists define plants with edible roots, stems or leaves as vegetables.
Cookery
Cooks use capsicum pods, or peppers, as a vegetable and add them to savory dishes. Dried and powdered peppers make the spices chili and paprika. Other fruits cooked as vegetables include tomatoes, beans and okra.
Legal Definitions
Sometimes the law decides. In 1893 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the tomato was as vegetable because it was served with dinner. At that time, importers paid duty on vegetables, but not fruit. Since then, a vegetable is any plant consumed as part of a savory dish, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture horticulturist, Victor Boswell, writing for "National Geographic" magazine in 1949 -- reprinted by Texas A&M University Extension in 2000.
