By CATHERINE RICKMAN
Strawberries Aren't Berries And Those Aren't Seeds Found On The Skin
Strawberries aren't berries or fruits but an "accessory fruit" or "swollen receptacle tissue." Furthermore, the “seeds” found on the skin of strawberries aren’t seeds either.
Many people believe the somewhat-true idea that berries grow their seeds on the inside, but strawberries wear them on the outside, and those “seeds” are the actual fruits of the plant.
Each of those tiny fruits contains a minuscule seed. Berries have a three-layer structure consisting of an exocarp (skin), mesocarp (pulp), and seeds, but strawberries don't.
Fruits are the ovaries of the plant, and berries are formed from single ovaries. Accessory fruits like strawberries, however, are formed from a different part of the plant.
Strawberries are part of the rose family, Rosaceae, and roses are known to produce accessory fruits, rose hips, the little red orbs that look like berries and taste like hibiscus.
Strawberries are also considered aggregate fruits; clusters of small drupes, each with a seed. Aggregate fruits are identifiable by their textured surface of juicy round clusters.