How Come Strawberries Grow on Bushes?

Bursting Heart

• One species of strawberry bush (Euonymus americanus) is also called bursting heart due to the way its pods burst open in fall to reveal red-orange seeds. Bursting heart charmed botanists visiting the New World around 1663, so it was among the first American plants exported to Europe. The bush grows 6 to 8 feet tall, has yellow-green flowers with five petals and lance-shaped leaves that turn red in fall. Bursting heart is also notable for its three-pronged, fork-like branches that remain vivid green in the winter. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it is commonly found in 24 states stretching from Texas eastward to the Atlantic and northward from Missouri to New York.

Running Strawberry Bush

• Known botanically both as E. obovatus and E. obovata, running strawberry bush has seed pods that look similar to those of E. americanus. But the two shrubs are significantly different. Running strawberry bush has brownish blossoms, seldom grows taller than 12 inches and spreads like a ground cover. The North American Native Plant Association says that it roots wherever it touches the soil. It grows in 12 states stretching from Missouri and Arkansas on the west northward through parts of New England and on up to Ontario. Except for Georgia, it isn't commonly found in the Deep South. Both bursting heart and running strawberry bush prefer moist, shady locations such as along streams and ravines.

Sweet Shrub

• Sweet shrub is native to the American south and is a familiar sight along the Appalachian stream banks in the Smoky Mountains. It was a familiar ornamental planted around homes during colonial times. Women once wore sprigs of the bush in their bodices as perfume; even the leaves are fragrant when rubbed. Sweet shrub, which grows up to 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide, blossoms from April to May. It also is commonly found in the eastern part of the U.S. where the USDA identifies it as being prevalent in 21 states from Louisiana east to Florida and north to New York.

True Strawberries

• True strawberries are soft-stemmed, herbaceous members of the rose family (Rosaceae) that grow close to the ground, forming a mat of above-ground runners off which new plants form. Strawberry beds survive for about four years without replanting if tended properly. Good cultivation includes a process called "renovation" in which the patch is mowed at the end of its growing season then weeded and fertilized. Similar to the flowers of euonymus strawberry bushes, true strawberry blossoms have five petals.