This is the most common type of simple fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into a fleshy pericarp within a thin covering; it is always formed from a superior ovary and derives from either a single or compound (syncarpous) pistil ( e.g., tomato, grape,) the pulp may be more or less homogeneous, or the outer part of the fruit may be firm, hard, or leathery. A plant that bears berries is referred to as bacciferous. Berries are usually dispersed by animals that eat them. The seeds pass through their bodies and are excreted.

In plant species with an inferior ovary, the floral tube (hypanthium) including the basal parts of the sepals, petals, and stamens) can ripen along with the ovary, creating an accessory fruit called a false berry. (For example banana, cucumber, blueberry and  the fruits of cacti like the prickly  pears)