Origin

StrawberryThe typical modern strawberry, of the genus Fragaria, comes from the Americas, and is a hybrid of both North and South American varieties. Ironically, the crossbreeding was done in Europe to correct a mistake; the European horticulturists had only brought female South American plants, and were forced to cross them with the North American variety in order to get fruit and seeds.

Fragaria comes from “fragans”, meaning odorous, referring to the perfumed flesh of the fruit. Madam Tallien, a great figure of the French Revolution, who was nicknamed Our Lady of Thermidor, used to take baths full of strawberries to keep the full radiance of her skin. Fontenelle, centenarian writer and gourmet of the 18th century, considered his long life was due to the strawberries he used to eat. Strawberries were considered poisonous in Argentina until the mid-nineteenth century.

Source : Wikipedia

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