Is Corn Considered a Vegetable?

By Staff WriterLast Updated March 30, 2020

Corn is considered by many to be either a vegetable or a grain, but botanists actually classify corn (or more specifically, the kernels) as fruit.

Corn belongs to the Poacae family of flowering plants. A fruit is a part of a plant that develops from the end of a flower, whereas vegetables are considered to be any other part of the plant (stalks, roots and leaves). Corn kernels are produced from the top of the stalk where pollen is produced. This type of fruit is called a “caryopsis.” Wheat, rice and other cereal grains in the Poacae family are also considered fruits.