The common strawberry found in grocery stores and home gardens is not a naturally occurring species, but a hybrid created in the 18th century. This familiar fruit resulted from a botanical accident when two distinct wild species were brought together in a European garden. The resulting plant combined the traits of its parents, leading to the creation of one of the world’s most popular fruit crops.
The Wild Ancestors of the Strawberry
The lineage of the modern strawberry traces back to two wild species, both native to the Americas. The first parent species, the Virginia strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), originates from eastern North America and was introduced to Europe in the 17th century. This plant produced small, red berries known for their intense flavor and sweetness.
The second ancestor, the Chilean strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis), grew along the Pacific coasts of South America, cultivated by indigenous communities. This species was notable for its size, with fruits described as being as large as a walnut or a hen’s egg. While the fruit was pale and less sweet than the Virginia variety, its bulk provided the genetic blueprint for the size of the modern berry.
Both wild species are octoploid, meaning they possess eight sets of chromosomes, which is a factor in their ability to hybridize and produce large fruit. Europeans had previously cultivated smaller, wild woodland strawberries, but these two New World species held the potential for a superior fruit.
The Journey, the Key Figure, and the Accidental Hybrid
The Chilean strawberry arrived in Europe thanks to Amédée-François Frézier, a French military engineer and spy. In 1712, Frézier was dispatched by King Louis XIV on a reconnaissance mission to map Spanish fortifications along the coasts of Chile and Peru. During his travels, he observed the large, cultivated strawberries and recognized their potential value.
Frézier collected five live Fragaria chiloensis plants, transporting them across the Atlantic Ocean and delivering them to France in 1714. He kept the plants alive by providing them with moisture throughout the journey. These particular Chilean plants happened to be exclusively female (pistillate), meaning they could not produce fruit without a male pollinator.
When the female Chilean plants were established in a garden in France, likely in the royal collections near Paris, they were planted near the North American Fragaria virginiana already growing there. The Virginia variety supplied the necessary pollen for the Chilean flowers to fruit. This spontaneous, accidental cross-pollination resulted in a new plant that possessed the large fruit size of the Chilean parent and the sweet, red color of the Virginia parent.
The botanist Antoine Nicolas Duchesne documented this new creation in his 1766 monograph, Histoire Naturelle des Fraisiers (Natural History of Strawberries). Duchesne’s work was instrumental in identifying the hybrid nature of the plant, which quickly gained attention for its superior qualities. This union marked the birth of the modern strawberry.
The Rise of the Modern Garden Strawberry
The successful hybrid was formally named Fragaria \(\times\) ananassa, with the “\(\times\)” symbol indicating its hybrid origin. The species name ananassa refers to the pineapple, reflecting the fruit’s size and aromatic quality that reminded early growers of the tropical fruit. This new plant was robust, combining the flavor of F. virginiana with the fruit size and firm texture of F. chiloensis.
The larger fruit size and improved yield quickly made the hybrid a commercial success across Europe. Its cultivation spread rapidly, notably in regions like the Plougastel Peninsula in France, an early center for strawberry production. The new garden strawberry soon replaced the smaller, less productive European varieties.
The combination of desirable traits made Fragaria \(\times\) ananassa the ancestor of every commercial strawberry variety grown today. Plant breeders continued to select for traits such as enhanced sweetness, uniform shape, and disease resistance. Its size, ease of cultivation, and balanced flavor profile ensured its position as the world’s most recognizable and widely consumed strawberry.