Fragrant and luscious, the heart-shaped red fruits of the strawberry plant are popular all over the world. Eaten fresh or after being frozen, canned, or preserved, used for juice and in making desserts such as pies, pastries, and ice cream, strawberries are rich in vitamin C and provide iron and other minerals.
Eight main species of strawberries belong to the genus Fragaria (family Rosaceae), which are native to temperate regions around the world. They are grown throughout most of the United States and Canada, in Europe, in southern and eastern Africa, in New Zealand and Australia, and also in Japan. The cultivated varieties are mainly derived from two species, F. virginiana and F. chiloensis, that are native to the Americas. Most countries have developed their own varieties that are suitable for the climate, day length, altitude, or type of production required in a particular region.
The strawberry is a leafy plant that grows low to the ground. The leaves are sawtooth-edged and hairy. The usually white flowers arise in small clusters on slender stalks from the same place that the surface-creeping stems grow. As a plant ages, it sends out runners that touch ground and root, thus enlarging the plant.
The strawberry fruit in the botanical sense is not a berry and is much more than a single fruit; it is the greatly enlarged stem end in which are partially embedded the many true fruits, or achenes, popularly called seeds.