Travelers to Portugal have long enjoyed the country’s fresh fruits and vegetables without being aware of just how varied the selection is. Now, Portugal has updated its National Fruit Variety Register to recognize 326 varieties.
The update includes new varieties of strawberry plants. The list is maintained by the Directorate General for Food and Veterinary Medicine, which determines what meets the criteria: the plant must be intended for fruit production or rootstock, be “distinct, sufficiently homogeneous and stable” and have a designated person responsible for selection and maintenance.
The list is led by 139 varieties of apples, 65 kinds of olive trees and pear trees and chestnut trees, tied at 26 each. Figs clock in at 16, almonds at 12 varieties, followed by seven kinds of cherries, six varieties of oranges and five each for plum, sour cherry and strawberry7.
