Strawberry

Description
The plant is a multi-year herbaceous shrub and is up to 30 cm high. The above-ground part of the plant consists of a stem, leaves, hedge and rodent organs. It forms a ground rosette of leaves. The leaves are divided into three sections and are roughly serrated. The hedges are grown from stems, these hedges are changed stems, long 20-40 cm and shaped like a knuckle. When the leaves and roots develop on the knuckle, we cut off the young plant and plant it. The various types of strawberries from the genus Fragaria are spread all over the world. In Slovenia the most spread is the common strawberry (F. vesca), which we call the forest strawberry. Strawberries, which we plant in plantations and gardens, are called noble or garden strawberries. They were created by the cross breeding of F. chilonesis and F. virginiana, which came to Europe from North America at the beginning of the 18th century. Today, we know strawberries that produce fruit once or more times per year.  Native strawberries bloom early in the spring, they need a short day to develop flowers. They are harvested in May. The multi-year strawberries bloom independently of the length of the day, some need a long day. Multi-year strawberries bloom when on the first cold days of Autumn. We plant them in March and April. From flowering to fruit development takes 20-30 days. The flowers are predominantly white, with 10-16 flower glasses with 5 or more petals. The plant is inbred, but the presence of insects is necessary for the fertilization of many seed structures. Only the well-pollinated flowers develop into properly formed fruits. The fruit of the strawberry is a birch fruit, made up of a number of individual fruits, which develop from the flower bed.

Growth conditions and habitat
The most suitable temperature for growth is 25 °C. Spring temperatures below -2 °C affect flower buds, flowers and young shoots. The soil should be damp, medium heavy, contain humus, slightly acidic and airy. Strawberries are planted in a sunny or half-shade position.

Culinary use
We enjoy fresh or frozen strawberries, with them we aromatize desserts and beverages. The leaves of forest berries can be used for tea, which helps in purifying blood and digestive disorders. Fruits contain pectin, folic acid, antioxidants, vitamin C.

Sources:
https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagodnjak
Franci Štampar in sodelavci: Sadjarstvo. Kmečki glas, Ljubljana, 2009