A vegetable is described as any herbaceous (non-woody) plant or plant part that is eaten with the main course rather than as a dessert. Botanically, the fruit is the developed ovary of a seed plant with its contents and accessory parts. The confusion arises because a vegetable can have fruit which are the reproductive parts. Botanically, tomatoes and peppers are the fruit of the plant, but the tomato is considered by the public to be a vegetable.
The artichoke (globe rather than Jerusalem or SunChoke) part that is eaten is botanically a flower but could also be classified as a vegetable by the way it is consumed.
