Japanese name: オランダイチゴ（阿蘭陀苺） Scientific name:Fragaria ananassa
[Overview]
A perennial created by hybridization.
The whole plant is hairy.
It sends out runners from the leaf axils and bears young plants at their tips.
The leaves are basal or alternate, long-stalked, compound with 3 leaflets, and serrate.
The flowers are white with 5–8 petals.
The part that looks like the fruit is the enlarged receptacle, and the so-called ichigo grains set in the pits on its surface are the true fruits.
[History]
The name ichigo appears in The Pillow Book, but this does not refer to Oranda-ichigo.
It was brought to Japan by the Dutch in the 1800s.
Full-scale cultivation began in the period of high economic growth from the late 1960s.
[Uses]
It is sold in shops as ichigo.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by dividing the young plants.
Pests and diseases include virus disease, gray mold, cutworms, and aphids.
Also take care against damage to the fruit by slugs, pill bugs, and wild birds.
