Fruit is delicious and healthy. That's why we're presenting 30 different types of stone fruit and pome fruit here, which can also be grown here and deliver tasty fruit.

In a nutshell

  • Differentiation of the groups based on the seeds
  • both belong to the rose family (Rosaceae)
  • Stone fruit plants form the genus Prunus
  • Stone fruit is closely related, species often interbreed

pome fruit

All types of pome fruit belong to the pome fruit family (Pyrinae) within the rose family (Rosaceae). Characteristic are the five chambers surrounded by pulp and a soft shell, which in turn contain the seeds. In contrast to stone fruit pits, these seeds do not have a hard shell, but are protected by an elastic seed shell. In addition, pome fruit plants always contain several seeds, the number of which varies depending on the species and variety.

Notice: Botanists refer to the fruits of all pome fruit plants as apple fruits because of their characteristic structure. The apple in its diverse forms is just one of the best-known and most popular types of pome fruit.

Types from A to L

Apple (Malus domestica)

  • deciduous tree up to 15 m tall
  • Cultivated form of the wild crabapple
  • around 30,000 apple varieties worldwide, in Germany around 2000
  • Flowering time in May
  • usually two seeds per fruit chamber, sometimes up to four

Notice: Probably the oldest known apple variety is the Borsdorfer apple, which was already mentioned in 1175 and still exists today. In the supermarket, on the other hand, the range of varieties has shrunk to around five to six global varieties.

Pear (Pyrus communis)

  • up to 20 meters high tree with a characteristic crown
  • variety-dependent flowering time between April and May
  • in culture since the Neolithic Age (approx. 10,000 to 2000 BC).
  • around 1500 different varieties worldwide
  • two to ten seeds per fruit

Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)

  • also known as rowan or crabberry
  • up to 15 meters high, widespread tree
  • Flowering time between May and July
  • bright red, clustered, berry-like apple fruits
  • Core with four compartments with up to eight seeds

Tip: The fruits of the mountain ash are inedible raw, but can be cooked into jam or jelly. The rowanberries can also be juiced together with apples.

Serviceberry (Sorbus torminalis)

  • native deciduous tree up to 25 meters high
  • blooms between May and July
  • Fruit ripening from October
  • develops small, reddish apple fruits when ripe
  • two to four seeds per fruit
Source: Rosenzweig, Sorbus torminalis Weinsberg 20070929 5, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

Notice: The fruits of this wild fruit tree are edible when overripe or cooked. They can also be used to make a traditional schnapps, which is called 'Alisier' in France and 'Elsbeerenbrand' in Austria.

Rock pears (Amelanchier)

  • different types of pear with edible fruits
  • e.g. common service pear (Amelanchier ovalis) or copper service pear (Amelanchier lamarckii)
  • aromatic, sweet-tasting spherical fruits
  • dark red to black-blue when ripe
  • usually up to ten seeds per fruit
  • Fruit ripening in August

Notice: The shrub-like growing service pear is known as the "currant tree" because of its sweet fruit, which can also be used to make delicious jam.

Crab apple (Malus sylvestris)

  • also known as the European wild apple
  • small tree or shrub, up to ten meters high
  • small, globular apple fruits
  • taste tart and sour and are woody
  • have been boiled or dried since the Neolithic Age

Notice: The crab apple is probably the parent form of our cultivated apple. You can add small amounts to cultivated apples when juicing and thus obtain a particularly aromatic apple juice.

Types from M to Z

Whitebeam (Sorbus aria)

  • ripe, dried and ground fruits were once added to bread flour
  • tree or shrub up to ten meters high
  • Flowering time May to June
  • spherical apple fruits that turn yellow to scarlet when ripe
  • Fruit ripening September to October

Notice: The fruits of the whitebeam taste bland, which is why the tree is only planted for ornamental purposes. With the Bollweiler pear, there is a more aromatic cross-breeding of pear and whitebeam that has existed since the 16th century. Today, however, it is very rare.

Medlar (Mespilus germanica)

  • old, almost forgotten wild fruit variety
  • Tree or shrub up to approx. five meters tall
  • needs a warm, sunny location
  • pear-shaped fruits with brown skin, edible
  • two to five seeds

Tip: The sour-aromatic medlar fruits ripen at the end of October to the beginning of November and only taste good after the first frost. You can also put them in the freezer for a day.

Nashi pear (Pyrus pyrifolia)

  • popular pome fruit from China
  • closely related to the pear, has similar location and care requirements
  • tree up to 15 meters high
  • spherical, juicy and sweet fruits
  • four to five chambers, each with two seeds

Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)

  • up to three meter high shrub from North America
  • good suitability for hedge planting
  • black, berry-like apple fruits from August
  • Very vitamin-rich "superfood" pome fruit
  • five to ten seeds per fruit

Service Tree (Sorbus domestica)

  • also local, almost forgotten pome fruit
  • very rare tree up to 20 meters high
  • related to the rowan berry (rowan).
  • spherical, pear- to apple-shaped fruits
  • usually only one or two seeds per fruit, sometimes more

Notice: Service trees are rarely found today, most of the known specimens are in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The fruit tree was already used in ancient times and brought across the Alps by the Romans.

Quince (Cydonia oblonga)

  • very old type of pome fruit, already cultivated for at least 6000 years
  • Differentiation between pear-quince and apple-quince
  • intensely fragrant, golden-yellow apple fruits with many seeds
  • Harvest the quinces between September and November
  • not suitable for raw consumption, only prepared (e.g. as jam, jelly, liqueur)

Hawthorn (Crataegus)

  • different, very similar species
  • three species native to Germany that frequently interbreed
  • also known as hawthorn
  • dark red, berry-like apple fruits with only one core
  • Fruits of hawthorns are edible, suitable for jelly, syrup and compote

Tip: The dried leaves, blossoms and fruits are also suitable as a tea infusion and are often used to strengthen the heart and circulation.

Loquat (Eriobotrya)

  • Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) best known species
  • also known as Mispero or Loquat
  • not related to the native medlar
  • Flowering time between September and October
  • round, very juicy and slightly sour-tasting fruits with large seeds

Tip: In spring, these tasty fruits are sometimes available in supermarkets under the name "medlar". You can easily grow your own trees from their seeds, but germination takes several weeks.

stone fruit

Stone fruit is a fruit that only contains a woody, hard seed core. No fruit chambers are formed, instead the inner part of the fruit wall is lignified. All stone fruit plants belong to the Prunus genus, which in turn, like pome fruit, also belongs to the rose family (Rosaceae).

Types from A to L

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)

  • also called apricot
  • small, spherical, yellow to orange-yellow drupe
  • Harvest between the end of June and August, depending on the variety

Notice: The apricot needs a lot of sun and warmth, but can also be grown in good, sheltered locations in Germany.

Chinese plum (Prunus salicina)

  • also referred to as Susine
  • spherical, plum-like stone fruit with yellow-pink flesh
  • Harvest between July and August
  • mainly cultivated in China and Japan, only rarely in Europe

Real sour cherry (Prunus cerasus)

  • also known as sour cherry or sour cherry
  • popular, sour-tasting cherries with a light to black-red color
  • Distinction between glass cherry (Amarelle), sweet sour cherry (Morelle) and morello cherry
  • numerous types of cherries

Bird cherry (Prunus padus)

  • also known as swamp cherry
  • white flower clusters between April and June
  • round, pea-sized drupes that turn black when ripe
  • are readily eaten by birds
  • processed pulp of bird cherry is edible

Japanese Apricot / Ume (Prunus mume)

  • also known as winter cherry
  • over 300 different varieties in Japan
  • small, green to yellow drupes

Notice: The "plum schnapps" or "plum wine" served at the end of a meal in Chinese restaurants is made from this stone fruit.

Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera)

  • also known as blood plum or Turkish cherry
  • stone fruit cultivated for a very long time, already known to the Celts
  • small, spherical, yellow to cherry-red fruits
  • ripen in June and July

Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas)

  • native stone fruit species from the dogwood family (Cornaceae)
  • Also known as Yellow Dogwood
  • small tree or large shrub
  • blooms between March and April, important bee tree
  • Fruits ripen from mid-September

Tip: The red stone fruits of the cornel are not only popular with birds, but can also be used as wild fruit. They contain a lot of vitamin C.

Cultivated plum (Prunus domestica)

  • popular, commonly grown stone fruit
  • numerous varieties and subspecies (including mirabelle plums, plums)
  • The taste and appearance of the fruit varies greatly depending on the variety

Notice: The plum originated from a cross between cherry plum and sloe.

Types from M to Z

Mirabelle plum (Prunus domestica subsp. syriaca)

  • also called yellow plum
  • deep yellow, spherical stone fruit when ripe
  • sweet tasting and late maturing

Nectarine (Prunus persica var. nucipersica)

  • mutated form of the peach, but with a smooth skin
  • yellow, juicy-sweet flesh
  • needs a lot of sun and warmth

Tip: There are crosses between nectarine and apricot (Nectacot) or between nectarine and plum (Nectaplum), as the species are closely related.

Olive (Olea europaea)

  • also called real olive tree
  • in culture for thousands of years
  • round fruits (olives) raw not edible
  • must first be pickled in order to flush out bitter substances

Tip: Olive trees are also popular with us because of their gnarled, attractive appearance. However, due to their lack of frost hardiness, they can only be cultivated in tubs.

Peach (Prunus persica)

  • popular, spherical stone fruit with a velvety, hairy skin
  • low trees
  • Fruit ripening between August and September
  • numerous cultivars with yellow or red flesh

Morello cherry (Prunus cerasus subsp. acida)

  • very dark, aromatic form of the sour cherry
  • self-fertile with high yields
  • Fruit ripening between late July and early August

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)

  • also known as hedge thorn, blackthorn or sloe
  • local wild fruit with black-blue drupes
  • Fruits are edible after exposure to frost

Tip: Blackthorn is well-known and popular primarily in the form of so-called sloe schnapps or sloe liqueur, but it can also be made into juice, jam or jelly.

Sweet cherries (Prunus avium)

  • very popular stone fruit with numerous cultivars
  • Distinction between heart cherries and cartilaginous cherries
  • Depending on the variety, the fruit ripens between June and July

Plum (Prunus domestica subsp. domestica)

  • Subspecies of the plum with blue to blue-black drupes
  • numerous varieties
  • versatility of the fruit

Notice: Prunes and other plums can be distinguished, among other things, by the detachability of the pulp from the stone. Plums are very easy to remove from the stone.

frequently asked Questions

What groups is fruit divided into?

In addition to stone fruit and pome fruit, the different types of fruit are also divided into berries and nuts. Nuts are surrounded by a hard, woody shell. Soft fruit, in turn, is subdivided into “real” berries (e.g. currants, gooseberries), aggregate drupes (e.g. blackberries, raspberries) and aggregate fruits (e.g. strawberries).

What group of fruits do grapes belong to?

Grapes belong to the group of "real" berries. Incidentally, this also includes citrus fruits such as lemons, oranges and tangerines, which are a special form of berries.

Does the avocado also belong to the stone fruit?

The tasty avocado contains a large, hard core and is used like a vegetable. In fact, botanically it is a berry fruit.

Which groups belong to mango, banana and sweet melon?

The exotic mango, which can weigh up to two kilograms, is also a stone fruit, but cannot be grown here and is therefore not included in this list. Strictly speaking, the banana is a special form of the berry. The sweet melon, on the other hand, is not a fruit but, as a pumpkin, is a vegetable.

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Garden plants