Quirky Facts
The average strawberry has 200 seeds.
- Strawberries grow in Australia 12 months of the year
- There is a museum in Belgium just for strawberries.
- Strawberries are a member of the rose family.
- Strawberries actually at any one time have new flowers, a range of green berries of different maturities as well as red berries ripe and ready to pick
- A strawberry plant can have up to 30 berries on it at any one time
- In Queensland it takes between 18 and 32 days for a berry to grow from flower to fully ripe, dependent on average temperatures
- When you purchase strawberries at the store you may think you are buying a type of fruit, but the red “berry” is actually an enlarged flower stem. The little yellow “seeds” covering the outside of the surface of the strawberry are really small, single seed fruits called achenes.
Propagation in strawberries is accomplished by using the runner plants that grow from the shoots the strawberry uses to spread itself across the ground. These new plants are genetically equivalent to the original plant.
- It is thought that the name strawberry comes from the way strawberries were originally grown on raised beds covered with straw to keep the berries off the soil
- The ancient Romans believed that strawberries alleviated symptoms of melancholy, fainting, all inflammations, fevers, throat infections, kidney stones, bad breath, attacks of gout, and diseases of the blood, liver and spleen.
- To symbolise perfection and righteousness, medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals.
- Madame Tallien, a prominent figure at the court of the Emperor Napoleon, was famous for bathing in the juice of fresh strawberries. She used 22 pounds per basin. Needless to say, she did not bathe daily.
- In medieval times, strawberries were served at important functions to bring peace & prosperity
In France, Strawberries were thought to be an aphrodisiac. A soup made of strawberries, thinned sour cream, borage, & powered sugar was served to newlyweds.
- Eight strawberries contain more Vitamin C than a medium sized orange.
- One serving of strawberries daily will decrease systolic blood pressure.
- The second wife of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, had a strawberry birthmark on her neck. Some people claimed that this proved she was a witch.
