In heraldry, fruit is a broad family of charges rather than a single fixed emblem. Most arms name the exact fruit, such as apples, pears, grapes, cherries, or pomegranates, because each can point to a particular landscape, livelihood, or story. As a symbol, fruit naturally speaks to plenty, hospitality, prosperity, and the rewards of cultivation, which makes it popular in civic arms for orchard districts, wine regions, and market towns, and in family arms that want to signal careful stewardship and “the harvest after labour.” A related term you will see in blazons is “fructed,” meaning a tree or plant shown bearing fruit (Mistholme: Fruit).

Fruit also carries strong context-driven associations. Grapes, vines, and wine clusters often suggest viticulture and trade, and they can also allude to Christian imagery tied to the vine and sacrament, depending on the bearer. The pomegranate is a good example of layered meaning: Mistholme notes it is frequently found in Spanish armory to mark a connection to Granada, and medieval writers also read it as a sign of heavenly reward (Mistholme: Pomegranate). Fruit is also a reliable vehicle for canting arms (name-punning), with Mistholme citing period examples such as cherries for Cheriton and pears for Perello (Mistholme: Fruit).

For images and real-world examples, the fastest way to browse is Wikimedia Commons’ hub category (Fruit in heraldry), which branches into apples, pears, citrus, and extensive grapevine material. If you want a concentrated set of “fruit with a famous place-link,” the pomegranate galleries are especially rich (Pomegranates in heraldry). For clear drawing references, Mistholme’s illustrations are also handy, including the pear example (image) and the classic pomegranate slipped and leaved (image).