Strawberry

Strawberry, common name for low, perennial herbs of a genus of the rose family, and also for the edible fruit of these herbs. Strawberries, which are native to temperate regions throughout the world, were first cultivated in the United States about 1835 and have since become an important and widely distributed crop on farms and in home gardens. The white flowers, which are borne in cymes, have a five-cleft calyx, five rounded petals, many stamens, and numerous pistils. The fruit is an aggregate of numerous nutlets distributed on an enlarged, pulpy, scarlet receptacle.

All cultivated strawberries were developed from four principal species. The first of these, the wood strawberry, is a fragile woodland species native to the mountains of Mexico, South America, and the West Indies. The meadow strawberry of eastern North America was introduced into Europe during the 17th century. The beach strawberry is native to mountainous areas in the western hemisphere, and the fourth species of strawberry is common in central Europe. Most of the numerous varieties of strawberries under cultivation today were developed from the North American varieties, known as the Wilson, Crescent, Sharpless, and Longworth.

In northern areas of the United States, strawberries are usually planted in early spring; in the South and California they are planted in midsummer or later. The plants bear fruit in the spring of the following year. A variety called everbearing strawberries produces a second, smaller crop of fruit in the fall. Most strawberries are propagated naturally by means of runners that form about two months after the planting season.

Common enemies of the strawberry plant include such insects as the rose chafers, which riddle the leaves or lay eggs in the flower beds; the black vine weevil; and the leaf rollers. See Diseases of Plants.

Scientific classification: Strawberries make up the genus Fragaria of the family Rosaceae. The wood strawberry is classified as Fragaria vesca, the meadow strawberry as Fragaria virginiana, and the beach strawberry as Fragaria chiloensis. The fourth principal species from which cultivated strawberries were developed is classified as Fragaria moschata.