When you eat corn-on-the-cob are eating seeds or fruits?

The kernels on a cob of corn are actually fruits, not seeds. In botany, a fruit is scientifically defined as a mature ovary, which includes the seeds. In corn, the ovary walls are fused to the seed coat, forming a single structure.

Additionally, corn kernels bear several other features common to fruits, such as a fleshy outer layer (pericarp), a middle layer (mesocarp), and an inner layer (endocarp) surrounding the embryo (the future plant). Therefore, botanically speaking, corn kernels are actually fruits, not seeds.