Frézier packed up some of these plants and took them back to France where they were planted among other species. The crossing of Fragaria chilenosis with another species from the new world, Fragaria virginiana, resulted in a hybrid that would eventually become the strawberry we know today... Eventually the hybrid made its way back across the Atlantic and took hold in North and South America.
Did you happen to notice our French spy's name, Frézier? That might
sound familiar because the French word for strawberry is fraise. An
ancestor of Frézier’s was knighted and bestowed the name by the king of
France in the year 916 after offering his highness a gift of ripe
strawberries. Seems it was Amédée’s destiny to become intertwined with
this noble berry. more
