This paper provides a brief introduction to fruit, their definition, classification and geographical distribution. In the following review, the term "fruit" refers not to a well-defined botanical plant part but, in the horticultural sense, to a component of the human diet generally consumed as a dessert item. Plants that bear fruits cover a vast range of morphological and physiological traits. A generic classification of fruit-bearing plants is proposed for use in studies on radionuclide transfer to fruit.