Strawberries Fragaria ananassa, of which there are forty or so species, are all more or less edible, and one of the most widespread, F. vesca, the wood strawberry, is found in North Africa. Wherever we roamed in the temperate zone, there were woodland and meadow strawberries to be found. The best of these were F. vesca, F. viridis, and F. moschata (hautbois or musk strawberry). No great improvement seems to have occurred in these species subsequent to the commencement of farming, and while all three species were domesticated to a greater or lesser degree, the strawberry that we know today did not exist.
It wasn't until seeds of a North American species, F. virgininiana (long used by indigenous Indians) were sent to Europe in the sixteenth century that the stage was set for production of the modern strawberry. The 'meadow strawberry', as it was called, was no bigger than the existing cultivated forms of the European woodland strawberry, but had a different flavor and were a different color. Quite a few varieties were selected from this introduction, and they became quite well spread amongst gardens of the day. The Indians of Chile had domesticated another American species, F. chiloensis, and the Spanish, impressed with it's size and eating quality, spread it to other parts of South America, and mentioned it in documents of the day. A Frenchman was stirred to introduce plants to France in 1714. These proved to be fruitless unless cross pollenized by either F. moschata or
F. virgininiana. The natural cross pollenizing eventually resulted in a chance seedling hybrid between chiloensis and virginiana. This new 'Pine Strawberry' ('pine' as in 'pineapple') was first described in 1759, and was the first ever modern strawberry. And from this beginning breeders have developed the large, firm, red varieties we buy in the shops.

Fruit in general are not good sources of the B vitamin pantothenic acid, with the conspicuous exception of avocados, but strawberries have useful amounts. Half a dozen strawberries will provide almost a third of an adults minimum daily requirement.
Strawberries have very good quantities of vitamin C; five strawberries provide better than half the daily requirement for an adult.
As with tomato consumption, regular strawberry consumption has been significantly associated in one study, at least, with reduced risk of prostate cancer. Strawberries do not contain lycopene (the active carotenoid in tomatoes), so an as yet unidentified natural plant chemical unique to strawberries is responsible for the protective effect.
Strawberries were ranked sixth overall in tests to identify the most antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables. Laboratory tests in another study re-inforce this, suggesting some berries may reduce the buildup of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, a contributor to heart disease, stroke and atherosclerosis. In this last mentioned study, strawberries were tested as having the fifth highest LDL inhibitory effect of all the berries investigated. Interestingly, further studies have shown that strawberries, while having the sixth highest anti-oxidant concentration, are THIRD in actual chemical effectiveness in preventing oxidation in cells. Most of this anti-oxidant activity is in the juicy portion. As with raspberries, the anthocyanin content (believed to be a protective antioxidant) of strawberries increases over time in storage, thus increasing their antioxidant value while on the shelf.