How Do Strawberry Plants Reproduce?

Strawberries are part of the Roseacea family. Roseacea is a very large family, which includes: cherries, raspberries, peaches, apples, plums, prunes, almonds, and, of course, roses. They are not berries, because their seeds are on the outside.

Strawberry plants reproduce in two ways; sexually and asexually.

Sexual Reproduction of Strawberry Plants

The first form of reproduction to be covered is the sexual form, with flowers and pollination. When a flower cluster appears on the plant, nectar will attract the insects. They collect the pollen and fly around to other plants and pollinate them.

Strawberry plants can self-pollinate and also pollinate other strawberry plants. How big the strawberry gets depends on how many pistils get fertilized. Then the seeds and ovaries grow, the flowers fall off, and the strawberry ripens. 

When birds eat the strawberries, they can deposit the achenes far away from the plant. With a little sun and moisture, a new plant will grow.

Asexual Reproduction of Strawberry Plants

Asexual reproduction of the plant is simply a plant putting out runners that start new plants.

The runners are called stolons, and are nodes that run over or under the ground, looking for a suitable place to grow. They have small leaves that, through photosynthesis, keeps the stolons alive. They also have roots to get moisture from the ground which allow the new plant to form.  

Strawberries Are Not Fruit

Receptacles are on the stem where the flower organs are attached and grow. The receptacles become engorged, or enlarged, and become what we call a strawberry. The seeds on the outside are actually achenes, which are the seeds and the fruit.

So, in summary, strawberries are not berries, they are not actual fruit, but enlarged receptacles, and the “seeds” on the outside are achenes, which are seeds and fruit combined.

Interesting Strawberry Facts

More interesting facts about strawberries include:

• Wild strawberries can be found in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America.
• Strawberries are the only "fruit" to have seeds on the outside and, on average, have 200 of them.
• Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the spring.
• California produces more strawberries than any other state in the United States, producing about one billion every year.
• Strawberries are grown in every state in the US.
• Strawberries are present in 94% of the households in the US.  
• 53% of seven to nine year old children like strawberries better than any other fruit.  
• Belgium has a strawberry museum.

More Facts About Strawberries

Source of the Name

The most popular explanation of where strawberries get their name comes from the way strawberries look like they are “strewn” over the field - hence the name “strewnberry” morphed into “strawberry.”

Nutrition Value

Strawberries have many things your body needs including:

• Potassium
• Nitrate
• Vitamin C
• Folic acid
• Antioxidants
• Fiber

Strawberries are only 55 calories per cup and are naturally fat-free, unless, of course, you dip them in chocolate.  

Medical Value

Strawberries were used by the ancient Romans for infections, inflammation, depression, and diseases of the blood, liver and spleen.

Lifestyle Value

Since they were thought to bring peace and prosperity, a strawberry shape was carved into the pillars and altars of churches during medieval times.  

Some people in Bavaria still tie baskets of strawberries to their cattle's horns as an offering to elves every spring.

Since elves love strawberries, it was thought that they would help the cows give birth to healthy calves and produce a large amount of milk.

Today some believe that if you cut open a double strawberry and share it with a person of the opposite sex, the two of you will fall in love. The French believe that strawberries acted as an aphrodisiac. Newlyweds would be served a dish which was prepared with strawberries, sour cream, powdered sugar, and an herb called borage.