Object: Strawberry - Strawberries - Fragraria

Image Credits

Wild Strawberries on a ledge, Adraein Coerte, 1704, wikimedia commons

Object Type(s)
Description

Strawberries were described by Nicasius de Sille as a 'weed'.  "The weeds consist mostly of strawberries, catnip and blackberries." Letters of Nicasius de Sille on Jstor, p 5 of 12  https://www.jstor.org/stable/43564374 

Fragraria virginiana was probably the species that was encountered by the Europeans in New Netherland, and was eventually brought back to Europe in the 17th century and spread throughout the continent there.      Strawberry leaves, flowers, and fruit were all used in the 17th century.

Indigenous people recognized Fragraria as the 'heart berry', a revered medicinal and the Indigenous Strawberry Moon in June  is still celebrated today.

Fragraria sp. seeds were found in the 17th century layer in the archeology of lower Manhattan.

See a detailed article on the archeology of plant life in New Amsterdam by Joel Grossman, PhD., courtesy of the Holland Society of New York  here.