This nicely preserved strawberry was unearthed in the midst of a move. Its delicate leaves (the calyx) are still intact. The calyx functions to keep the strawberry from bruising and spoiling. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the most robust strawberries in the museum’s collection have their leaves intact.

Though it is called a strawBERRY and is thought of as a berry, it is technically not. The strawberry is an aggregate fruit made up of many small individual fruits (achenes) each containing a seed.  NEXT >

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