Strawberries Fragaria × ananassa

Strawberries are a sweet fruit that are great to eat on their own or in many delicious dishes.

They grow best in sunny open areas. They prefer to have 6-10 hours of sunlight. They will produce fruit in late May and early June.

Life Cycle of Strawberries: Most farmers and gardeners will plant seedlings (or runners from the previous generation) grown in a greenhouse before temperatures are warm enough to plant in the ground.

Strawberries shoot off "runners" that will form baby strawberry plants. This is how strawberries reproduce.

Bees are an important pollinator of strawberry plants.

Where can you find strawberries?

Strawberries have always lived in North America. Native peoples found them growing in open areas and enjoyed their sweetness in many dishes. The first Europeans brought them back to be cultivated in Europe.

Today they can be grown virtually anywhere. The U.S and China are the top world producers of strawberries. California produces 90% of all strawberries consumed in the U.S and Florida produces 8%. They can be grown all year in their warm climate.

Pests

There are many organisms that also find strawberries very tasty. Slugs, mites, aphids, Japanese beetles and small mammals are just a few pests that like to munch on strawberry leaves and fruits

Diseases

Angular Leaf Spot is caused by a bacteria. It causes water soaked lesions on strawberry leaves.

Anthracnose is a fungus that can cause rot on all parts of the plant. Anthracnose on stems causes stunted growth. Rot on the leaves causes them to wilt but not die. Anthracnose rot on the fruit makes them unable to be sold and consumed.

There are actually several varieties of strawberry. Fragaria × ananassa is the most common variety. They produce big and juicy fruit. This is the strawberry you are probably most familiar with. There is also the woodland, or alpine, strawberry Fragaria vesca (shown on the right). These strawberries are tiny but intensely flavorful. Other wild varieties include the Virginia wild strawberry Fragaria virginiana and the beach, or coastal, strawberry Fragaria chiloensis.

The Potawatomi, a Native tribe from the midwest call strawberries "ode min", meaning "heart berry". They believe that their creator, Skywoman had a daughter, and when she died the Skywoman buried her and a strawberry plant grew from her heart.

Fun Facts

1. There are on average 200 seeds on a strawberry!

2. Americans eat on average 3.4 pounds of strawberries every year!

3. Strawberries are in the same family as roses!

Recipes

Strawberries are rich in vitamin C and make a great base for any dessert.

Make your own chocolate covered strawberries!!

Full Recipe

Strawberry Cheesecake

This recipe will require the help of an adult and it may take a little while but the end result is so worth it!

Full Recipe

Sources for this Website

Sophia Griffiths (2022)

Created By

Sophia Griffiths

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Credits:

Created with images by silver-john - "Strawberry background. Red ripe organic strawberries on market" • Noppasinw - "morning at strawberries farm at Chiangmai Thailand" • maxandrew - "Red ripe wild strawberry on plant in the forest. Selective focus. Shallow depth of field." • alexkich - "fresh strawberry outdoor" • noirchocolate - "Chocolate covered strawberries with sprinkles for Valentine's Day" • Viriyastock88 - "Strawberry Cheese Pie with delicious jam."