The Marshall strawberry, Fragaria ananassa,) is a strawberry species variety that is known for "exceptional taste and firmness" and had been described as "the finest eating strawberry" in America.
The variety was discovered by Marshall F. Ewell of Massachusetts in 1890 and flourished in the Pacific Northwest throughout the early part of the 20th Century, where it was an important crop in the region's berry industry. Following World War II, the crop was devastated by viruses brought from other countries and has since almost completely disappeared from commercial and private horticulture. The Marshall Strawberry is currently being maintained at the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon, and by very few private growers.
Renewing America's Food Traditions, a coalition of sustainable agriculture organizations, listed the Marshall strawberry as one of "700 plant and animal foods at risk of extinction".
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