strawberry (redirected from Strawberries)

strawberry, any plant of the genus Fragaria of the family Rosaceae (rose family), low herbaceous perennials with edible red fruits, native to temperate and mountainous tropical regions. The European everbearing strawberry (F. vesca) is the only species that does not put out the stolons typical of this easily propagated genus. It has been cultivated sporadically since pre-Christian times but intensively only since the 15th cent. The common strawberry, grown in many varieties in both Europe and America, is Fragaria × Ananassa, the result of the hybridization of F. chiloensis, believed to be indigenous to Chile and to the mountains of W North America, with the wild strawberry (F. virginiana) of E North America. Both species were introduced to Europe by New World explorers; the large French industry grew from a single common strawberry plant. In the United States the many growing regions harvest their crops in different seasons, from winter (Florida) to late spring (chiefly Michigan, Oregon, and Washington). Strawberries are sold fresh, frozen, or in preserves and are used in confectionery and for flavoring. Strawberries are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Rosaceae.

Bibliography

See G. M. Darrow, The Strawberry (1966); S. Wilhelm and J. E. Sagen, A History of the Strawberry (1974).

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strawberry

Fruit plant of eight main species of the genus Fragaria (rose family), the chief cultivated varieties of which are F. virginiana and F. chiloensis, native to the Americas. The low-growing, herbaceous plant has a fibrous root system and a crown from which basal leaves arise. The leaves are compound, with three leaflets, sawtooth-edged and hairy. Small clusters of white flowers grow on slender stalks. Botanically, the strawberry fruit is not a berry or a single fruit, but is instead a greatly enlarged stem end that contains many partially embedded true fruits (achenes), popularly called seeds. The plant propagates by stolons as it ages. Strawberries are very perishable and require cool, dry storage. They are eaten fresh or prepared for use in desserts or preserves. Rich in vitamin C, they also provide iron and other minerals.

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strawberry

1. 

a. any of various low-growing rosaceous plants of the genus Fragaria, such as F. vesca (wild strawberry) and F. ananassa (garden strawberry), which have white flowers and red edible fruits and spread by runners

b. (as modifier): #5a strawberry patch

2. barren strawberry a related Eurasian plant, Potentilla sterilis, that does not produce edible fruit

3. a purplish-red colour

4. another name for strawberry mark

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strawberry

symbolizes esteem. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 177]

See : Dignity