Fruit = Plant Uterus?

[Notoriously Unknown]

So I was eating an apple one day and I started musing on exactly why fruit even exists. Of course I came up with the obviouse: "Animals eat the fruit, the seeds go through their digestive system, the seeds get pooped out in a new location to aid the spread of the species"
Than I started making compairisons to mammals. To a plant, a seed is basicly a child, right? Well in this context, fruit would be a container (for lack of a better word) for the child. In other words, a uterus.
Let me state that my definition of uterus is "An organ somehow attached to a mother organism in which the organisms child is kept safe and helped in some way, shape, or form."
I'm positive this isn't the same as the official definition for uterus, but my location somehow lacks a dictionary so the official definition is unknown to me.

Of course this has some problems, such as a kangaroos pouch also fitting my definition and whethor or not fruit can even be considered an organ. Not to mention in a mammilian uterus the child grows untill it ready to exit, so shouldn't it be the same way with plants?
You guys are smart and you definetely know a lot more about this than I do.

What do you guys think? Could fruit be considered a plant uterus?

 

[Hiikaru]

Well, I see your point, but you seem to be missing an important part of the definition, which is that that's also where the babies form. I don't study fruit trees, so don't quote me on this. Instead, you can quote this article:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/qx894362w4822p5k/

It basically talks about a company where they take the seeds out of the developing fruit tissue of a tomato before the seeds are fully formed, which must mean they develop together (and I use this as a source as opposed to anything else because it's the only reference I could find under my search terms).

I suppose you could alter your definition to suggest that it doesn't matter if this "organ", as you put it, is fully-formed and functional before the baby starts forming.

Adding something about a womb being where the little one forms has the added benefit of removing kangaroos.

But yeah, it's pretty important that it's where they grow until they're ready to come out. I guess you could say that as soon as a seed is grown enough to grow if it gets into the ground then it's ready to come out, but being born isn't really the same thing as being eaten by a hungry animal.

ETA: Also, seeds aren't alive. So... they're not the babies of the tree. You might be able to get away with calling the sprout a baby, though, in which case, I think the seed would be the womb, not the fruit (if anything).

but my location somehow lacks a dictionary so the official definition is unknown to me.

Clearly, it doesn't lack a computer. Ever heard of dictionary dot com?

So I was eating an apple one day and I started musing on exactly why fruit even exists. Of course I came up with the obvious

I think you should use this sentence every time you're wondering about something and then just end it there.

"So I was people-watching one day and I started musing on exactly why people even exist. Of course, I came up with the obvious."

"So I was praying one day and I started musing on exactly why god even exists. Of course, I came up with the obvious." (if you're an atheist, the obvious answer is: he doesn't?)

 

[spaekle]

A uterus is an organ that I'm pretty sure only mammals have.

Wikipedia calls a fruit a "ripened ovary", which makes a lot more sense if you think about it. :v

Also, calling a seed a "child" is about the same thing as calling sperm or egg cells "children".

 

[ultraviolet]

Also, calling a seed a "child" is about the same thing as calling sperm or egg cells "children".

Actually, a seed is more analogous to a child, because it is the result of genetic material from two (or more, if they cross pollenate) plants. Fruit comes from some kind of flower after they have been pollenated by bees or other flying insects. Flowers also release their own pollen which gets carried to other trees to fertilise them. Once the flowers are fertilised, they'll grow into fruit, which contain seeds. Fruit trees are usually both genders, like many plants, but you can also get male and female trees (plantains/bananas are a good example. A female plant will need genetic material from a male plant before it can fruit).

It's a fairly good analogy to say that a fruit is a lot like a uterus, except for the differences between animals and plants. For the most part, fruits taste good so they're eaten and distributed by animals. Seeds can also remain dormant for long periods of time until the conditions are right before they'll grow.

ETA: Also, seeds aren't alive. So... they're not the babies of the tree. You might be able to get away with calling the sprout a baby, though, in which case, I think the seed would be the womb, not the fruit (if anything).

Yes, they are. o.O But, they can be dormant for long periods of time without growing - this enables them to be sold or eaten by us. Apple seeds in particular will stay dormant until they go through a period of frost, or, get thrown in the freezer for a few months before being planted by gardners. :P

If seeds weren't alive, how would they suddenly 'be alive' when they start growing?