Strawberry

When farmers grow strawberries they will often cover the soil with straw to protect the fruits from rot. Maybe this is how the strawberry got its name.

The genus Fragaria includes several strawberries.

Names

Scientific
   Fragaria x ananassa
English
   Garden strawberry
   Strawberry
Dutch
   Aardbei
Spanish
   Fresa
   Frutilla
French
   Fraise
   Fraisier
German
   Ananas-Erdbeere
   Erdbeere
   Gartenerdbeere
   Kulturerdbeere
Italian
   Fragola

Taxonomy

Genus
   Fragaria
Family
   Rosaceae
Order
   Rosales

Basic information and facts

Origin:

America.
The cultivated strawberry is a hybrid of the North American F. virginiana and the South American F. chiloensis.

Distribution:

United States and Mexico. South Americas. Spain and other European countries. Japan. Also grown in cooler hill areas in the tropics.

Flowers:

Leaves:

Fruits:

Climate and weather:

Strawberries grow best in temperate climates or the cooler hills in the tropics.

Pollination:

Most strawberries are self-fertile. But pollination by bees improves the quality of the fruits.

Height:

Spacing (close range)

Spacing (wide range)

Propagation:

Strawberry plants are usually propagated from runners.

Insect pests:

Some caterpillars, some grubs feed on the roots. Slugs and snails. Birds.

Diseases:

Fungal diseases (Mildew, Leaf spot)

Fruit development:

Harvesting:

Uses:

Eaten fresh. used to make jam and fruit sauces.

Proverbs and Quotes

A strange land is a bilberry; one's own land is a strawberry.
A strawberry blossom will not moisten dry bread.
A strawberry blossom will not sweeten dry bread.
A strawberry doesn't ripen according to the wishes of a monkey.
Don't marry a girl who wants strawberries in January.
Other land blueberry; own land strawberry.
Real friends will share even a strawberry.
One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown and when strawberries bloom in Israel. (Golda Meir)
About the strawberry: "Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did." (by: William Butler)

Did you know that?

Strawberries have fruits with seeds on the outside.
Belgium has a strawberry museum.
About 28,000 kilos of strawberries were eaten during the 2012 Wimbledon Championships.
Strawberry Fields Forever is a song by The Beatles

Recipes

Strawberries with cream

Ingredients:
Fresh strawberries, whipped cream.

What to do:
Wash and clean the strawberries, then cover them with cream. That's it.

Crop categories

Fruits
Food crops
Temperate crops

Pictures