The answer to this question always causes wide eyes. Strawberries are not fruits, they are nuts. Find out here why this is so and what ingenious plan Mother Nature is behind.

That's why strawberries are nuts

The botanists like to throw hobby gardeners into deep confusion and give rise to heated discussions. With regard to the assignment of strawberries, the scientists are particularly successful in this maneuver. Do you not only want to be adept at planting strawberries, but would you also like to be familiar with the quite exciting aspects of the botanical assignment to nuts? The development of a strawberry provides information:

  • before the visible budding, the plant creates the first flower inside for the largest A-fruit
  • this is followed by the flowers for the later B and C fruits
  • as the flower grows, a nutlet develops on each ovary
  • this nutlet is pushed apart in parts by the growing, red base of the flower
  • a strawberry is therefore a false fruit

Botanists refer to a false fruit as an aggregate fruit. The actual fruits are therefore the small yellow nuts that gather on the juicy red base of the flower. In contrast to real berries, there are no seeds inside strawberries. These sit on the outside and are surrounded by a hard shell, as befits nuts.

Strawberries as pseudofruit - Mother Nature's ingenious plan

The deeper meaning of juicy red strawberries is not to spoil the sweet tooth under a topping of whipped cream. Here, evolution created a sophisticated survival strategy. Relying on a single dispersal mechanism, the seed carriers are said to be attracted and rewarded by the enticing pod.

Birds and small mammals nibble on the strawberries, with the seeds ending up in the digestive tract. They migrate through this unscathed and germinate far away from the mother plant. Mice, hedgehogs, badgers, blackbirds, robins as well as ants and beetles all have their sights set on the strawberries. They move around the beds in the garden and the planters on the balcony, so that hobby gardeners have to pay attention to specific protective measures.

This is how hobby gardeners benefit from the aggregate nuts

So you are now equipped with the knowledge that strawberries are among the nuts. This knowledge also has a practical use for enthusiastic hobby gardeners. Due to the botanical nature, the seeds of strawberries are very easy to harvest yourself. Although propagation is usually done by means of offshoots, sowing is now an alternative. How to harvest the strawberry seeds:

  • Halve ripe strawberries
  • Place on newspaper cut side down
  • let dry at room temperature

After a few days, collect the nuts that have fallen off and carefully scrape the rest off the bottom of the flower.

tips and tricks

Figure-conscious strawberry fans shouldn't be confused by the assignment to nuts. At just 32 calories per 100 grams, strawberries remain a slim treat. Peanuts, on the other hand, come with a whopping 567 calories per 100 grams, coconuts with an impressive 660 calories and macadamia nuts with a record-breaking 718 calories.

Category:

Vegetable garden