North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Heath Flax <8orge.onx@gmail.com>]

>Melissa  wrote:

IIIIIIIIIIIII> "I attended a talk by the strawberry breeder at the
Geneva, NY experiment station, where he showed a slide of a strawberry
that was such a dark red, it was almost black. I think he showed this
slide only to illustrate the sort of useless plants he has to throw
away all the time, since they're not the right color to appeal to
consumers. But if there's a black strawberry out there, I think it
would be worth growing"

      (replying)----This sure sounds like the same source's (Geneva
Experiment Station {"Catalog of New and Noteworthy Fruits 1991-1992})
"New York 1593,":
(from that bulletin ):
" New York 1593--Limited quantities available.  Informally called
'Black Beauty",this novel selection has a deep purple skin and flesh
color, making it novel and exciting for home processing.  Plant habit
and runnering are similar to its' parent 'Honeyoye', and it matures in
midseason.  Plants are low stature, fruits are attractive large blunt
conic, and high gloss.  Firmness is average.  Fruits are of optimal
quality when maroon in color, but are still good when deep purple."

...so it'd seem that, that experiment station "gave it a shot," but
maybe little or no luck selling/popularizing it, if it (by any
designated number or subsequent name), didn't  achieve substantial
circulation or popularity.    From my experience as someone having
grown and personally sold strawberries direct to the public, I would
expect that the very dark color, for most customers, VERY much dooms
this berry (as a fresh fruit candidate): it seems that at purchase
point consumers gauge strawberries "very" much (not to mention often
very, very intently) by appearance, mainly color, which with
strawberries, at least in general or with many varieties, may tend to
make sense.   The tendency with strawberries varieties (currently
ones, overall) for Strawberry color to simply correlate very very much
with berry (prime) ripeness (lack of prime ripeness, whether over or
-under), makes strawberries, I think, at least for now a kind of "done
deal"...for color anyway.

 once again,  something of probable worth real pluses, such as rare
(with this fruit) exoticness and maybe supra-nourishment, for now at
least continues  little  acknowledged. {"shrugs"}

--Heath F.
Z. 5b-6a Massachusetts