Strawberries are one of the world’s most popular fruits, though botanically they are not true berries. The edible part is an aggregate accessory fruit, meaning the fleshy tissue develops from the enlarged receptacle, not the flower’s ovary. The small specks on the surface, often mistaken for seeds, are the plant’s true fruits, called achenes, each containing a single seed. While the number of wild species is small, the count of cultivated varieties, or cultivars, ranges from hundreds to thousands globally.
The Scope of Strawberry Diversity
The genus Fragaria contains over 20 recognized wild species that naturally occur across the Northern Hemisphere. The most common garden strawberry, accounting for nearly all commercial production, is the hybrid species Fragaria × ananassa. This modern hybrid was created in 18th-century Europe by crossing two North and South American wild species: Fragaria virginiana and Fragaria chiloensis. The resulting hybrid is an octoploid, meaning it has eight sets of chromosomes, which contributes to its robust nature and large fruit size. While thousands of cultivars have been developed from this hybrid, only about 600 varieties are actively grown and traded around the world.
Key Types Based on Fruiting Habit
The most common way to classify strawberry varieties is by their fruiting habit, determined by their response to day length, known as photoperiodism.
June-bearing varieties are the most traditional type, producing a single, large crop over a two-to-three-week period, typically in late spring or early summer. These plants initiate flower buds in the late summer or fall when days are short and require a period of dormancy.
Everbearing varieties produce two distinct crops per season: one in the late spring and a smaller one in the late summer or early fall. They are less influenced by day length than June-bearing types and tend to produce fewer runners, the horizontal stems that form new plants.
Day-neutral varieties are the least sensitive to photoperiod, flowering and fruiting continuously throughout the growing season. These varieties produce fruit as long as temperatures remain moderate, making them popular choices for a season-long supply.
Notable and Commercially Important Varieties
The vast number of cultivars allows breeders to select for specific traits like disease resistance, firmness for shipping, or intense flavor.
The June-bearing variety ‘Honeoye’ is popular in cooler climates, known for high yields of tart-sweet berries that ripen early. Another June-bearing favorite, ‘Chandler,’ is widely grown for its large size and glossy appearance, adapting well to various growing regions.
For continuous harvest, the day-neutral variety ‘Albion’ is prized for its large, firm, and consistently sweet fruit. Similarly, ‘Seascape’ is a productive day-neutral variety that offers a good balance of size and flavor, making it a common choice for commercial growers and home gardens. These varieties demonstrate how breeding has created strawberries for every purpose, from large batches for preservation to a steady supply for fresh eating.