A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CULTIVATED STRAWBERRY 



David T. Handley 



Cooperative Extension Service, University of Maine 



The cultivated strawberry, Fragaria ananassa 

 Duch., is a relative newcomer to agriculture. The cullivars 

 now grown arc the result of hybridization by humans, the 

 fruit being quite different from those of their natural 

 ancestors. The unique developmental nature of the fruit 

 has made it the center of much study. The plant itself also 

 presents features of interest in its vegetative reproductive 

 ability, and its response to environmental conditions. In a 

 more practical sense, the strawberry has become the basis 

 of a large commercial industry, and is considered to be the 

 most popular small fruit in the United States. 



The exact origin of the modern cultivated straw- 

 berry is unclear, but the best evidence indicates that it is 

 derived from a cross between two native American species, 

 F. virginiana Duch., andF. chilocnsis Linn. The former is 

 a common inhabitant of the eastern coast of North Amer- 

 ica that greatly impressed early seventeenth century colo- 

 nists. The natives commonly used the fruit in breads, but 

 Roger Williams noted in 1643 that "the English have 

 exceeded and make good wine". The species was intro- 

 duced in England, and soon became a favorite in local 

 gardens. 



Prior to these introductions, the prevalent 

 strawberry in England and Europe was F. vesca Linn., 

 commonly known as the wood strawberry. This berry has 

 a history dating back to the Romans, who favored it served 

 with cream and sugar, or soaked in wine. It is doubtful, 

 however, that the plant was widely cultivated at that time. 

 Supplies were probably obtained from the plentiful popu- 

 lations growing wild. By the fifteenth century, large-scale 

 cultivation of this species was occurring, but it was eventu- 

 ally replaced by an early-ripening, bright red clone of F. 

 virginiana , developed from the slock originating in the 

 colonies. 



In 1712, while gathering information about 

 Spanish fortifications along the west coast of South Amer- 

 ica for the French navy, Captain Amede Frezier was 

 impres.sed by the large-fruited strawberries cultivated by 

 the natives. Being an amateur botanist in addition to a spy, 

 he collected some plants for the voyage home. Two of the 

 few surviving specimens were given to the Royal ( Jarden in 

 Paris along with the .statement that they bore fruit "as big 

 as walnuts". Antoinc de Jussieu, director of the garden at 

 the time, must have been disappointed when the plants 



produced only small, deformed berries if any. 



The plants Frezier took back to France were F. 

 chilocnsis. This species is dioecious (requiring both male 

 and female plants for productivity), and unfortunately he 

 had collected only females. The problem was simply a 

 matter of pollination, but this fact apparently was not 

 realized until many years later. Fortunately, plants were 

 retained in some collections and the species was later 

 redeemed when in Brittany it was discovered that inter- 

 planting it with F. virginiana , a plentiful pollen producer, 

 resulted in excellent crops. F. cliiloensis, or the Chilean 

 strawberry, soon became the major species of commerce. 

 Brittany was the European center of production, shipping 

 fruit to Paris and London. Despite its impressive size, 

 however, this strawberry was pale, seedy, and faint of 

 Havor. 



Probably as a result of the cross pollination 

 technique used to produce Chilean strawberries, seedlings 

 of F. chilocnsis x F. virginiana crosses began to appear in 

 European gardens. Some of this progeny bore fruit of large 

 size with a deep red ficsh. The Havor was somewhat 

 reminiscent of pineapple, and for this reason these plants 

 became known as the pineapple strawberry or pine straw- 

 berry. Although the origin was initially clouded, probably 

 by businessmen in hopes of high profits, Antoinc Nicholas 

 Duchesne published a hypothesis of its hybrid origin in 

 1766, based upon his experier.ce with strawberry breeding 

 and knowledge of the Brittany practices. The pine straw- 

 berry was named F. ananassa Duch. 



In America, the early commercial strawberry 

 industry was dependent upon the European introductions 

 ofF. virginiana and F. ananassa. However, in 1838, Charles 

 Hovey, of Cambridge Massachusetts, introduced the 

 'Hovey' strawberry. This cultivar was the result of crossing 

 a European pine strawberry with a native F. virginiana. 

 'Hovey' is credited with being the first cultivar of any fruit 

 made from an artificial cross in the United States. The high 

 quality of both the fruit and plant stimulated a great new 

 interest in strawberries throughout the country. This 

 cultivar and later U. S. introductions such as 'Wilson' and 

 'Howard' provided the basis for future breeding programs 

 and led to the large and successful commercial industry we 

 know today. 



