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Look: Genetic analysis reveals the ancient origin of the strawberry

New research explains why the strawberries of today looked different in the past.

Medicinal plant wild strawberry, wood strawberry, fragaria vesca  /  Heilpflanze Walderdbeere, Erdbe...
Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

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You’re probably most familiar with this type of strawberry: the plump, juicy Fragaria ananassa, also known as the garden strawberry.

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In the grand scheme of history, this hybrid species actually hasn’t been around that long.

It came to fruition when two species were crossbred in the 18th century, after hundreds of years of cultivation.

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