Strawberry plant
Where is the origin of a strawberry plant, any ideas, would you like to guess, here is some information that I found out about a strawberry plant.
There are indigenous species of a strawberry plant, and also the other “commercial,” bigger, brighter, golf ball size ones that have been cultivated and crossed to maximize crop yield.
Not all strawberry plants are equal, neither are all strawberries equal, they look different, they taste different, and they are different.
In the cultivation of a strawberry plant, similar to general fruit and vegetables there are two extremes, the opposite poles, just like there are the two extreme ends of human personality traits. The Considerate versus inconsiderate, active versus passive, diligent versus lazy, creative versus dull, fast versus slow, etc.
We all know there are two stereotypes of business people, on one side there is the one with a passion for the product, takes into consideration the growing conditions of the plant, and the quality of the product for the customer. On the other side, there is the other stereotype that is in it just for the money and does not care about the product, nor about the growing conditions or the quality of the product that the customer gets. You know the one, we have all met both types especially being employed for someone else over the years. The latter does not give a hoot whether what/when the/amount of chemicals and fertilizers are being used. They are the type of people that should not be in agriculture or in any food industry, they should be in another appropriate industry. A debate about the above issue would go something like this; Bigger the strawberries grow, bigger the business profit, sold by weight of the product, not quality, and that the customers want to buy products as cheap as possible, they drive the markets. Also that it’s not only the strawberry plant that has been cross-bred to perform, but also almost every other fruit and vegetables that are being farmed and cultivated. So it seems that the business viability assessment and the profit margins are what determines what the fruit and vegetables are being fed.
Here is a citation from a web page.
“Indigenous species of strawberries have been found in most of the world’s arable landmasses, with notable exceptions including Australia; South America east of the Andes Mountains; the Middle East; and Africa (the Fragaria vesca strawberry species has been grown in the Middle East and northern Africa for a very long time and may also be native to those areas. Strawberries for strawberry lovers.com. “
The wild strawberry of the Nordic region is fairly tiny small berry, compared to the cultivated type that is being sold at the supermarkets.
Just one cultivated strawberry weighs about the same as 5-6 wild strawberries. The worst flavor with strawberry is the one with no taste, just bland water, cells, and fiber. Strawberries that have been grown super fast lack taste, they look bright and beautiful, but they have very little or no taste.
“However, the “garden” variety of strawberry plant with which most of us are familiar today are known as Fragaria ananassa. “Ananassa” is Latin for “ananas-like”; Ananas comosus is the botanical name for the pineapple plant; and the strawberry plant was so named because of the supposed resemblance of the “berry” to a pineapple plant in shape, smell and taste. The F. ananassahybrid is a cross between Fragaria chiloensis (the “Chilean strawberry”) and Fragaria virginiana (the “Virginian strawberry”).”
Whether it is the Fragaria ananassa variety or not, the growing procedure and the season determines the outcome of the fruit not only with the strawberry plant. A lot is being said about the growing of grapes, and how it affects the flavor of wine, and how little is said about the growing of strawberries.
“Among those that received a living F. chiloensis plant from Frézier was theRoyal Medicinal Garden in Paris, France. Consequently, it has long been speculated that the first F. ananassa strawberries may have grown in this royal garden. Whether this is correct or not, it is certain that the first “garden” strawberry cultivars did sprout somewhere in the southern England-northern France-Benelux region of western Europe.”
“Nevertheless, the first cultivated crossings of F. virginiana x F. chiloensisoccurred in Europe sometime within the roughly half-century span from 1714 to 1766.”
Where did the strawberry plant originate? It is still a mystery to me, we know that there are indigenous strawberry plant species in North America, and South America, also strawberries grow in the Pacific islands, e.g. Hawaii. Maybe after more study and reading, I can update this post with more details later on.
For more pictures of the Wild Nordic strawberry plant. Nordic cuisine focus.
8 health benefits of a Strawberry plant, 1 cup full of nutrition from strawberries. For more photos of a wild strawberry plant click on this hyperlink.
