Talk:Strawberry

2005

I can not see that there is any info anywhere if this image really depictures a strawberry of the ananassa species/variety, so I removed the pic. / Habj 08:43, 15 August 2005 (UTC)

This article is really in need of some major updates, as the bulk of the information about cultivation and pests was incredibly out of date. I've made a quick attempt to fix the cultivation part, but this could be done much more artfully if some one had the time. Also, because the regions in which strawberries are cultivated have changed in the last several decades, the diseases and pests of commerical importance have as well, and this information should probably be updated if some one gets the chance (I may later if I have time.) I've left the previous information on seed propagation, but it's not really terribly relevant, as it is done rather rarely (some one may be interested, however).

I also fixed a few other things: Fragaria chiloensis did NOT come from the island of Chiloe. Frezier, who does not mention collecting it on Chiloe, refers to it as Fragaria chiliensis, and it is only Linnaeus who changes this to chiloensis (Darrow suggests that Linnaeus may have been confused as to its origin). Similarly, the statement that ananassa resulted from a cross with F. virginiana from Virginia is again reading too much into the name. No one knows for sure where and how virginiana made its way to Europe, and it likely did so at several times, from several places, before the accidental hybridization or hybridizations between chiloensis and virginiana occurred. The species has a range covering most of North America east of the Rockies, so it's impossible to say for sure that the plants involved came from Virginia. Also, no one knows for sure if this hybridization occurred in France or elsewhere in Europe, and there is some thought that it might have been in the Netherlands. Some at the time believed ananassa to be from Suriname, although that's rather unlikely. It's quite possible that it occurred multiple times in different places in Europe.

Also: 'Chandler' is not everbearing, 'Gariguette' is not Fragaria vesca. Elakazal 05:38, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

As Food

This article is missing info about Strawberries as Food, from the point of view of the user/eater. Why are big agribusiness strawberries so tasteless? Why are small wild ones so flavorful?

What are the best storage conditions for ripe fruit, to keep as long as possible? In the refrigerator? 69.87.201.12 00:55, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Are commercial strawberries much larger than 20 years ago? 216.75.170.81 19:39, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

so many pics

hey there, there are a lot of pictures that are not very different from each other, can we delete some of them?Truetom (talk) 18:39, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

I've removed one, feel free to be bold and remove more if you'd like. WLU (talk) 21:24, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

Page move, merge

I 'moved' the page (there was a redirect, so I had to cut and paste move. The reason was MOS:CAPS - I couldn't see a reason to capitalize 'Strawberry'.

Also, should this page be merged with strawberry? Are there that many cultivars of strawberries? WLU (talk) 21:24, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

i agree that it's a bit confusing to have the two articles and there is a lot of redundancy. most people who speak of strawberries probably mean the modern cultivated form that is treated in this article. i support the merger.Truetom (talk) 17:31, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

History Section Full of Speculation

Much of this section is inaccurate and or speculation.

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ORIGINAL TEXT:

1)Though originally from the New World, strawberries were considered poisonous in Argentina until the mid-nineteenth century.

2)Popular etymology has it that the name "straw" berry comes from gardeners' practice of mulching strawberries with straw to protect the fruits from rot (a pseudoetymology that can be found in non-linguistic sources such as the Old Farmer's Almanac 2005).

&2)There is an alternative, albeit equally implausible, theory that the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon verb for "strew" (meaning to spread around) which was streabergen (Strea means "strew" and Bergen means "berry" or "fruit") and thence to streberie, straiberie, strauberie, straubery, strauberry, and finally, "strawberry", the word which we use today. The name might have come from the fact that the fruit and various runners appear "strewn" along the ground. However, there is no evidence that the Anglo-Saxons ever grew strawberries, and even less that they knew of this practice, as strawberries are originally from the Americas.

3)Most likely, strawberries received their name from the long-time practice of packing the delicate fruit in straw.

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COMMENTS":

1)Strawberries are native to most of the northern hemisphere, including Europe & Britain. The garden strawberry is simply a hybrid of North and South American varieties. Were the native strawberries of Argentina considered poisonous or the garden hybrids,specifically grown for food in Europe? The later would seem unlikely. Is there a source for that statement?

2)What is "implausible" about this etymology? It is supported by the Oxford English Dictionary. Particularly in the lineage of the word from streberi(g)e (1000) to strauberiis (1328-29) to streberie (1340-1450) to streberes (1541) to strawberyes (1542)to strawberies (1620).

3)Clearly, from the above, the word has been in use for wild strawberries, including the "wild" strawberries which were cultivated*, since long before the hybrid that created the modern "garden" version and modern agriculture necesitated their packing in straw - this seems purely conjecture. Were they packed in straw in the year 1000?

The World Book Encyclopedia indicates that strawberries were cultivated by the ancient Romans. *The Oxford English Dictionary sites a source from 1620 that states: "The wilde or voluntary strawberies..are not so good as those that are manured in gardens." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Drayke (talk • contribs) 02:16, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

SOME RESPONSES

1) I deleted the "though originally from the New World" statement. They're not native to Argentina, so it's not really relevant anyway. I too doubt the veracity of the claim. 2) I removed the "implausible" bit. This seems to me to be the closest thing to an accepted etymology, though there doesn't seem to be a consensus. The bit about Anglo-Saxons not knowing about them because they were from the Americas has been removed, since that's nonsense. Although evidence is pretty limited, the name appears on lists of plant names as early as the 10th century, so it seems likely the Anglo-Saxons were aware of it, and probably collecting it from the wild, if not cultivating it. 3) The evidence for the "packing in straw" idea has always seemed very thin to me. I changed this to represent it as one explanation, not the preferred one.

I disagree with the World Book's claim that strawberries were cultivated by the ancient Romans--although referenced (very occasionally) by the Romans, it is always (to my knowledge) referenced as a wild plant or medicinal herb, not as a cultivated crop.Elakazal (talk) 06:17, 10 May 2008 (UTC)