Questions from High School Students

(look for Wikipedia links highlighted like this)

 

1. Why do berries have a scientific-looking name in Latin?

(e.g., blueberry: Vaccinium angustifolium; strawberry: Fragaria vesca)

In the field of botany called taxonomy (defined as the practice and science of classification), distinct plants reproducibly cultivated and propagated receive a binary name according to the standard of stating

in italics first the genus and secondly the specie, e.g., Vaccinium (genus) angustifolium (specie).

This is called binary nomenclature and the second name defining precisely a unique specie is called the

specific epithet. One other point: often the names are not Latin at all, but just have a formal look like Latin.

 

2. Why do berries have such bright colors?

The simple answer would be to say colors help preserve the species by two mechanisms:

First, as berries are constantly exposed to sunlight and ultraviolet radiation, pigments produced mainly in the berry skin form an outer shield. The skin pigments absorb potentially damaging solar effects,

shielding particularly the seeds which harbor the plant's regenerative genes.

Also mainly in the skin is where pigments provide antioxidant protection against

oxygen radicals formed during photosynthesis.

This is the same antioxidant benefit provided to people and animals that have

colorful foods like berries in their diets!

Remember the Color Code?

[Special note: as leaves are the primary location of photosynthesis in a plant, the leaves usually have the

highest density of antioxidant pigments such as chlorophyll and carotenoids. This is partly why eating

"leafy green vegetables" is good for us, why tea contains many antioxidants (made from herb leaves),

and why leaves tend to have the highest antioxidant density in a plant, #5 FAQ below]

Second, colors are pigments which not only may be visually attractive but have properties

also of fragrance and taste. These factors may attract bird and animal predators

which, by eating the fruit, will disperse seeds in their droppings, propagating the plant.

 

3. Why do berries of the same genus often have similar species of different colors?

(examples: in Vaccinium, blueberries and red cranberries;

in Rubus, black raspberries and red raspberries)

Simple answer: Mother Nature loves variety!

To assure attraction of predators ("seed spreaders"), having different biological characteristics of

color vision, taste and olfaction (smell) capabilities,

berry plants have evolved to be different enough in color to offer a "choice".

 

4. Some berries are processed for their seeds (e.g., grapes, raspberries).

What's so interesting about berry seeds?

Seeds are the repository of all the regenerative capacity of the plant (embryo and its genes) and contain food sources and protective chemicals like phenolics that will be used and multiplied as the seed germinates and the fruit grows. Grape seeds harbor dense concentrations of the phenolic antioxidant class of proanthocyanidins, the main component of nutraceuticals called "grape seed extract". Raspberry seeds (and many other berry seeds) can be used to extract oils with valuable cosmetic and skin healing properties. Seeds from many types of plants are highly nutritious for human consumers. Try some from your bulk food store!

 

5. So we eat the fruit and seeds to get health values from berries.

Does the rest of the plant have any useful nutrition?

Definitely. Some herbal teas made from berry leaves have high contents of antioxidants that are actually more dense in leaves than in other plant components.

Chinese herbal medicine practices often use the stem, bark and root of berry plants for nutrition in teas, soups, meats, purees and salves. As a general rule, looking across berry plant

components for total density of nutrients and antioxidants together may create this hierarchy:

there's no science done specifically to test for this -- I'm speculating ;>)

seeds > leaves > skin > stem = roots > pulp (the fruit we like best!)

 

Previous Issues of Fifty Fun Facts

#1 (goji = wolfberry, black raspberry, blackberry, açaí)

#2 (cranberry)

#3 (strawberry, grape antioxidants)

#4 (recipes)

#5 (phenolics and flavonoids)

#6 (berry breeding)

Click here for the 2006 Archives!

 

Would information like this interest someone you know?

Please suggest a visit to the Berry Doctor Sign-in Page!  Thanks.

See you next time for another round of five from Fifty Fun Facts About Berries!

Dr. Paul
The Berry Doctor