Why a Pumpkin Is a Fruit, Not a Vegetable

Botanically: fruit = fleshy structure covering seeds (pumpkin, tomato, pepper). Vegetable = leafy/root/stem parts (lettuce, carrot, celery). Horticulturally/legally: US Supreme Court (1800s) ruled tomatoes, peppers, eggplants as vegetables for tariff purposes. Pumpkin remains a fruit by both definitions.

The Ruling

• Imported fruits were tax-free; vegetables taxed.
• Court reclassified culinary vegetables to protect US farmers.
• Botany ≠ law in produce classification.

Teach the kids: science says fruit, law says vegetable (for some).