The most popular cultivated strawberry is the Fragaria × ananassa. Annual global production of this species has grown steadily over the centuries, with amounts doubling in the last 20 years to more than 2.5 million tonnes (FAO Production Statistics). Most of the production is located in the northern hemisphere (98%), but there are no genetic factors or climatic barriers that prevent further expansion to the southern hemisphere.  

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Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is a species of octoploids derived from the hybridization of two species of wild octoploids, Fragaria chiloensis and Fragaria virginiana, in the mid-1700s in a botanical garden at Versailles in France. The few plants born from this interspecific cross showed a large fruit, larger than any of the parent fruits.