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Why do raspberries have little hairs?
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Close-up of a cluster of ripe red raspberries, with one berry showing a green stem and sepals. Diagram showing the reproductive process in flowering plants, from pollen transfer on the anther to the stigma, fertilization inside the ovary, seed formation, and growth of a seedling. Key parts like pistil, stamen, pollen grain, and seed embryo are labeled.
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Close-up of a cluster of ripe red raspberries, with one berry showing a green stem and sepals.
Hairy berries The “hairs” on raspberry fruits are the remnants of female flower structures known as styles.

Why do raspberries have little hairs?

Written by
Melissa Petruzzello
Melissa Petruzzello (she/her) is Assistant Managing Editor and covers plants, algae, fungi, insects, spiders, renewable energy and environmental engineering. She also handles certain topics in Christianity,...
Melissa Petruzzello
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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If you’ve ever looked closely at a raspberry, you may have noticed that it sports a number of little hairlike projections. These are leftover flower parts, evidence of a delicious, pollination-powered transformation. Like most fruits, a raspberry develops from a single flower. Unlike most fruits, however, a raspberry is an aggregate fruit—technically a cluster of many tiny fruits arising from the flower’s multiple ovaries. There are different types of aggregate fruits, but the raspberry (and...

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