Editing Berry (section)

== History ==
[[File:Blackthorn - Balatonkenese.JPG|thumb|alt=blackthorn bush|Blackthorn, ''[[Prunus spinosa]]'']]
Berries have been valuable as a food source for humans since before the start of agriculture, and remain among the primary food sources of other [[primates]]. They were a seasonal staple for early [[hunter-gatherers]] for thousands of years, and wild berry gathering remains a popular activity in Europe and North America today. In time, humans learned to store berries so that they could be used in the winter. They may be made into [[fruit preserves]], and among Native Americans, mixed with meat and fats as [[pemmican]].{{zwj}}<ref name="cambridge">{{cite book |title=The Cambridge World History of Food |volume =2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr2qnK_QOuAC&pg=PA1732 |pages=1731–1732 | editor= Kenneth F. Kiple |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-521-40215-6 }}</ref>

Berries also began to be cultivated in Europe and other countries. Some species of blackberries and raspberries of the genus ''[[Rubus]]'' have been cultivated since the 17th{{nbsp}}century, while smooth-skinned blueberries and cranberries of the genus ''[[Vaccinium]]'' have been cultivated in the United States for over a century.{{zwj}}<ref name=cambridge /> In Japan, between the 10th and 18th{{nbsp}}centuries, the terms {{Transliteration|ja|ichibigo}} and [[wikt:ichigo#Japanese|{{Transliteration|ja|ichigo}}]]{{nbsp}}([[kanji]]: {{wikt-lang|ja|苺}}; [[katakana]]: [[wikt:イチゴ#Japanese|{{lang|ja-Kana|イチゴ|nocat=y}}]]) referred to many berry crops. The most widely cultivated berry of modern times is the [[strawberry]], which is produced globally at twice the amount of all other berry crops combined.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=Fragaria: A genus with deep historical roots and ripe for evolutionary and ecological insights|author1=Aaron Liston |author2=Richard Cronn |author3=Tia-Lynn Ashman |journal= [[American Journal of Botany]] |year=2014 |volume=101 |issue=10 |pages=1686–99|doi= 10.3732/ajb.1400140 |pmid=25326614 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The strawberry was mentioned by ancient Romans, who thought it had medicinal properties,{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4NTKoIy2TcYC&pg=PA213 |title= 75 Remarkable Fruits for Your Garden |first= Jack |last= Staub |page=213 |publisher= [[Gibbs Smith]] |date= 2008 |isbn= 978-1-4236-0881-3}}</ref> but it was then not a staple of agriculture.{{zwj}}<ref name="wild crop"/> [[Woodland strawberries]] began to be grown in French gardens in the 14th{{nbsp}}century. The [[musk strawberry]]{{nbsp}}(''F. moschata''), also known as the {{langr|fr|[[hautbois]]}} strawberry, began to be grown in European gardens in the late 16th{{nbsp}}century. Later, the [[Virginia strawberry]] was grown in Europe and the United States.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/strawberryhistory.html |title=History of the Strawberry |first=Vern |last= Grubinger |publisher= [[University of Vermont]] }}</ref>{{When|date=February 2017}} The most commonly consumed strawberry, the [[garden strawberry]]{{nbsp}}(''F. ananassa''), is an accidental hybrid of the Virginia strawberry and a Chilean variety ''[[Fragaria chiloensis]]''. It was first noted by a French gardener around the mid 18th{{nbsp}}century that, when ''F. moschata'' and ''F. virginiana'' were planted in between rows of ''F. chiloensis'', the Chilean strawberry would bear abundant and unusually large fruits. Soon after, {{langr|fr|[[Antoine Nicolas Duchesne]]}} began to study the [[breeding of strawberries]] and made several discoveries crucial to the science of plant breeding, such as the sexual reproduction of strawberry.{{zwj}}<ref name="duchesne">{{cite book |url=http://specialcollections.nal.usda.gov/speccoll/collectionsguide/darrow/Darrow_TheStrawberry.pdf |title=The strawberry; history, breeding, and physiology |year=1966 |publisher=New York [[Holt Rinehart and Winston]] |first=George M. |last= Darrow |pages=38–43 |via= [[US National Agricultural Library]] }}</ref> Later, in the early 1800s, English breeders of strawberry made varieties of ''F. ananassa'' which were important in strawberry breeding in Europe,{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite book |url=http://specialcollections.nal.usda.gov/speccoll/collectionsguide/darrow/Darrow_TheStrawberry.pdf |title=The strawberry; history, breeding, and physiology |year=1966 |publisher=New York Holt Rinehart and Winston|author=George M. Darrow |pages=73–83}}</ref> and hundreds of [[cultivars]] have since been produced through the breeding of strawberries.{{zwj}}<ref name="wild crop">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kAJ_mUrdpWMC&pg=PA22 |title=Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources: Temperate Fruits|editor= Chittaranjan Kole |pages=22–23 |publisher=Springer|year= 2011 |isbn=978-3-642-16057-8 }}</ref>

=== Etymology ===
The [[Old English]] word {{wikt-lang|ang|berie}} ({{gloss|berry, grape}}) comes from [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]], variously [[reconstruction (linguistics)|reconstructed]] as {{wikt-lang|gem-pro|*basją}}, {{wikt-lang|gem-pro|*bazją}}, {{lang|gem-x-proto|basjom}} (source also of [[Old Norse]]{{nbsp}}{{wikt-lang|non|ber}}, [[Middle Dutch]]{{nbsp}}{{wikt-lang|dum|bere}}, [[German language|German]]{{nbsp}}{{wikt-lang|de|Beere}}, {{gloss|berry}}, [[Old Saxon]]{{nbsp}}{{wikt-lang|osx|winberi}}, [[Gothic language|Gothic]]{{nbsp}}{{wikt-lang|got|weinabasi}}, {{gloss|grape}}), which is of unknown origin. This and "[[apple]]" are the only fruit names in modern English which are descended from "native" [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] words.{{zwj}}<ref>{{Cite web|title= berry {{!}} Etymology of berry |date= 28 September 2017 |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/berry#etymonline_v_11063|url-status=live |website= [[etymonline]] |publisher= Douglas Harper |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501170452/https://www.etymonline.com/word/berry |archive-date=1 May 2019 }}</ref>