Funny-Shaped Fruits

You’d think that a carrot is a carrot is a carrot, but that’s just not the case – some carrots are just carrots, and others are also intergalactic superheroes. And we’ve got a series of amazing fruits and vegetables here to prove it.

In truth, there is quite a variety of reasons for which a fruit or vegetable can grow into weird shapes. The most common is damage/scar tissue. If some part of the fruit or vegetable is scarred, especially during its earliest growing stages, this can slow the growth in that area and cause it to deform the rest of the plant. In the case of root vegetables, inconsistent soil fertilization can also cause strange growth – carrots, for example, can branch out and grow arms into surrounding pockets of manure.

Fruits can often be forced to grow into certain desired shapes, although no artificially shaped fruits are shown here. By enclosing them into glass forms, tree and vine fruits can be forced to grow into squares, stars, hearts or any other form. Some farmers even grow pears that look like Buddha!