An accessory fruit is a fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 in which some of the flesh is derived not from the ovary

Ovary (plants)

In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the base of the petals and sepals...

 but from some adjacent tissue exterior to the carpel. Examples of accessory tissue are the receptacle of strawberries, figs

Common fig

The Common fig is a deciduous tree growing to heights of up to 6 m in the genus Ficus from the family Moraceae known as Common fig tree. It is a temperate species native to the Middle East.-Description:...

, or mulberries, and the calyx of Gaultheria procumbens or Syzygium jambos. Pome

Pome

In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subfamily Maloideae of the family Rosaceae.A pome is an accessory fruit composed of one or more carpels surrounded by accessory tissue...

s, such as apples and pears, are also accessory fruits, with much of the fruit flesh derived from a hypanthium

Hypanthium

A hypanthium is a floral structure consisting of the bases of the sepals, petals, and stamens fused together. Its presence is diagnostic of many families, including the Rosaceae, Grossulariaceae, and Fabaceae...

.

Fruit with fleshy seeds, such as pomegranate

Pomegranate

The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...

 or mamoncillo, are not considered to be accessory fruit.

The terms false fruit, spurious fruit, and pseudocarp are older terms for accessory fruit that have been criticized as "inapt", and are not used by botanists today.