If one blessed over fruits of the ilan "Who creates the fruit of the earth," he has fulfilled his obligation. [An ilan is any growth which when a fruit is taken from it, a shoot remains, and that shoot itself produces fruit in the following year. The blessing for all of its fruits is "Who creates the fruit of the tree." But where, when a fruit is taken, no such shoot remains, the blessing for the fruits is "Who creates the fruit of the earth."] And if one blessed over fruits of the earth "Who creates the fruit of the tree," he has not fulfilled his obligation. With all foods, if one said "Who caused all to be" ("shehakol"), he has fulfilled his obligation [even for bread and wine. But ab initio, one should not eat any food if he does not know the appropriate blessing.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Berakhot
ברך על פירות האילן וכו' – Whenever one takes hold of fruit that comes from a branch and that branch itself produces fruit in the following year (i.e., “perennial”), it is called a “tee” and we make the blessing on its fruits, “בורא פרי העץ/who creates the fruit of the tree;” but, where one takes hold of it [the fruit] and the branch does not remain to produce in the following year, we do not recite the [same] blessing on them, but rather, “בורא פרי האדמה/who creates the fruit of the ground.”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Berakhot
Introduction
This mishnah deals with blessings that are valid in a default sense that is to say they are not the preferable blessing to be recited over various food items, but nevertheless if one recites them one has fulfilled his obligation to recite a blessing.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Berakhot
על כולן אם אמר שהכל יצא – And even on bread and even on the wine (i.e., fruit of the vine). However, ab initio, one should not eat any fruit if he does not know at first the appropriate blessing to be recited on it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Berakhot
If one blessed over fruit of the tree the blessing, “Who creates the fruit of the ground,” he has fulfilled his obligation. But if he said over produce from the ground, “Who creates the fruit of the tree,” he has not fulfilled his obligation. Trees grow from the ground (didn’t need me to tell you that, did you). Therefore, if one recites “Bore pri ha’adamah” over a fruit that grows from the tree, the obligation to recite the blessing has been fulfilled. This does not work in the opposite way. Things can grow from the ground without being from trees (I suppose you knew that as well). Therefore, if one recites “Bore pri haetz” over something that grows from the ground but not from a tree, say a cucumber, one has not fulfilled one’s obligation and he must go back and recite the correct blessing.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Berakhot
If over anything he says “By Whose word all things exist”, he has fulfilled his obligation. There is a default blessing that works for all foods “shehakol niheye bedvaro.” In this generalized blessing, we acknowledge God as the source of everything in the world through the words God used at the moment of creation. As we shall see in the following mishnah, this is also the blessing which we recite over foods that don’t grow from the ground.
