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GreenBro · Passionated Vegan Talker Joined: 06 Feb 2007 Posts: 183

General info about Fruit

Garden Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa and related cultivars) is the most common variety of strawberry cultivated worldwide. Like all strawberries, it is in the family Rosaceae; its fruit is more technically known as an accessory fruit, in that the fleshy part is derived not from the plant's ovaries (achenes) but from the peg at the bottom of the bowl-shaped hypanthium that holds the ovaries.
The Garden Strawberry originated in Europe in the early 18th century, and represents the accidental cross of Fragaria virginiana from eastern North America, which was noted for its fine flavor, and Fragaria chiloensis from Chile and noted for its large size.
Cultivars of Fragaria x ananassa have replaced in commercial production the Woodland Strawberry, which was the first strawberry species cultivated in the early 17th century.

How to choose a ripe and fresh Fruit

Strawberry flavor is related to degree of ripeness. Fruit that is harvested at full ripeness will have the highest sugar content and flavor. However, fruit is often harvested prior to full ripeness so that it is firm enough to be shipped. New varieties have improved firmness for shipping. Additionally, improvements in post harvest handling and shipping conditions have allowed growers to ship fruit that is more ripe
Strawberry fruit should be firm but not crunchy. Excessively ripe fruit can be too soft. Strawberry varieties vary in color from deep red to red-orange. For a given variety, fruit should be fully colored, without white or green tips. Calyx color is also important. The calyx should remain green and healthy.
Strawberries are bright colored at harvest with healthy green calyxes. Water loss will cause the fruit to become wilted and dull.

Ways to prepare and serve the Fruit

Edible Parts: Fruit; Leaves.
Fruit - raw. Fruits of the best cultivars are sweet and succulent with an exquisite flavour. Strawberries are a very popular fruit and are widely available in the summer. The fruit of some cultivars is up to 3cm in diameter. Young leaves - raw.

Classification

There are more than 20 different Fragaria species worldwide. Key to the classification of strawberry species is recognizing that they vary in the number of chromosomes. There are seven basic types of chromosomes that they all have in common. However, they exhibit different polyploidy. Some species are diploid, having two sets of the seven chromosomes (14 chromosomes total). Others are tetraploid (four sets, 28 chromosomes total), hexaploid (six sets, 42 chromosomes total), octoploid (eight sets, 56 chromosomes total), or decaploid (ten sets, 70 chromosomes total).
As a rough rule (with exceptions), strawberry species with more chromosomes tend to be more robust and produce larger plants with larger berries (Darrow).
Diploid species
• Fragaria daltoniana
• Fragaria iinumae
• Fragaria nilgerrensis
• Fragaria nipponica
• Fragaria nubicola
• Fragaria vesca (Woodland Strawberry)
• Fragaria viridis
• Fragaria yezoensis
Tetraploid species
• Fragaria moupinensis
• Fragaria orientalis
Hexaploid species
• Fragaria moschata (Musk Strawberry)
Octoploid species and hybrids
• Fragaria x ananassa (Garden Strawberry)
• Fragaria chiloensis (Beach Strawberry)
• Fragaria iturupensis (Iturup Strawberry)
• Fragaria virginiana (Virginia Strawberry)
Decaploid species and hybrids
• Fragaria × Potentilla hybrids
• Fragaria × vescana
Numerous other species have been proposed. Some are now recognized as subspecies of one of the above species (see GRIN taxonomy database).
The Mock Strawberry and Barren Strawberry, which both bear resemblance to Fragaria, are closely related species in the genus Potentilla. The Strawberry tree is an unrelated species.

Recipes made mainly with this Fruit

Strawberries are often used to flavor other foods, such as ice cream. Apart from its interest as a dessert fruit, the strawberry draws interest due to the peculiarities of its structure, its tendency towards variation, and the gardener's success in exploiting this tendency