Horticulture/Fragaria

Strawberries StrawberryWatercolor.jpg Fragaria Rosaceae Perennials Transplanted easily Some serious Rhizomes, spreading by stolons. Fruits are edible, most are sweet. The strawberry (Fragaria) is a genus of plants in the family Rosaceae, and the fruit of these plants. There are more than 20 named species and many hybrids and cultivars. The most common strawberries grown commercially are cultivars of the Garden strawberry, ../Fragaria x ananassa/. The typical modern strawberry grown as a food crop comes from the Americas, and is a hybrid of both north and South American varieties. Ironically, the crossbreeding was done in Europe to correct a mistake; the European horticulturists had only brought female South American plants, and were forced to cross them with the North American variety in order to get fruit and seeds. Fragaria comes from "fragans", meaning odorous, an allusion to the perfumed flesh of the fruit. Madam Tallien, a great figure of the French Revolution, who was nicknamed Our Lady of Thermidor, used to take baths full of strawberries to keep the full radiance of her skin. Fontenelle, centenarian writer and gourmet of the 18th century, considered his long life was due to the strawberries he used to eat. Description The strawberry is an accessory fruit, meaning that the fleshy part is derived not from the ovaries (which are the "seeds", or achenes) but from the peg at the bottom of the hypanthium that held the ovaries. So from a technical standpoint, the seeds are the actual fruits of the plant, and the flesh of the strawberry is modified receptacle tissue. It is greenish-white as it develops and in most species turns red when ripe. Growing Conditions Varieties There are more than 20 different Fragaria species worldwide. Key to the classification of strawberry species is recognizing that they vary in the number of chromosomes. There are seven basic types of chromosomes that they all have in common. However, they exhibit different polyploidy. Some species are diploid, having two sets of the seven chromosomes (14 chromosomes total). Others are tetraploid (four sets, 28 chromosomes total), hexaploid (six sets, 42 chromosomes total), octoploid (eight sets, 56 chromosomes total), or decaploid (ten sets, 70 chromosomes total). As a rough rule (with exceptions), strawberry species with more chromosomes tend to be more robust and produce larger plants with larger berries (Darrow). Diploid species thumb|right|Woodland Strawberry, Fragaria vesca ../Fragaria daltoniana/ ../Fragaria iinumae/ ../Fragaria nilgerrensis/ ../Fragaria nipponica/ ../Fragaria nubicola/ ../Fragaria vesca/ (Woodland Strawberry) ../Fragaria viridis/ ../Fragaria yezoensis/ Tetraploid species ../Fragaria moupinensis/ ../Fragaria orientalis/ Hexaploid species ../Fragaria moschata/ (Musk Strawberry) Octoploid species and hybrids ../Fragaria x ananassa/ (Garden Strawberry) ../Fragaria chiloensis/ (Beach Strawberry) ../Fragaria iturupensis/ (Iturup Strawberry) ../Fragaria virginiana/ (Virginia Strawberry) Decaploid species and hybrids ../Fragaria × Potentilla hybrids/ ../Fragaria × vescana/ Numerous other species have been proposed. Some are now recognized as subspecies of one of the above species (see GRIN taxonomy database). The Mock Strawberry and Barren Strawberry, which both bear resemblance to Fragaria, are closely related species in the genus ../Potentilla/. The Strawberry tree is an unrelated species. Uses Maintenance Propagation Harvest Pests and Diseases ../Leaf Spots/ ../Gray Mold/ ../White Mold/ ../Sclerotinia/ ../Nutrient Deficiencies/ Boron Deficiency ../Aphids/ Melon Aphid: ../Aphis gossypii/ Buckthorn Aphid: ../Aphis nasturtii/ Strawberry Aphid: ../Chaetosiphon fragaefolii/ ../Spittlebugs/ Meadow Spittlebug: ../Philaenus spumarius/ ../Bugs/ Tarnished Plant Bug: ../Lygus lineolaris/ ../Earwigs/ European Earwig: ../Forficula auricularia/ ../Thrips/ Western Flower Thrips: ../Frankliniella occidentalis/ ../Beetles/ Fuller Rose Beetle: ../Pantomorus cervinus/ Fourspotted Sap Beetle: ../Glischrochilus quadrisignatus/ Hop Flea Beetle: ../Psyllioides punctata/ Palestriped Flea Beetle: ../Systena blanda/ Redheaded Flea Beetle: ../Systena frontalis/ Strawberry Flea Beetle: ../Altica ignata/ Strawberry Rootworm: ../Paria fragariae/ Strawberry Sap Beetle: ../Stelidota geminata/ ../Weevils/ Rough Strawberry Root Weevil:../ Brachyrhinus rugostriatus/ Strawberry Root Weevil: ../Otiorhynchus ovatus/ Strawberry Bud Weevil: ../Anthonomus signatus/ ../Caterpillars/ Strawberry Leafroller: ../Ancylis comptana fragariae/ Obliquebanded Leafroller: ../Choristoneura rosaceana/ Stalk Borer: ../Papaipema nebris/ Sparganothis Leafroller: ../Sparganothis sulfureana/ Green Fruitworm: ../Lithophane antennata/ Omnivorous Leaftier: ../Cnephasia longana/ Redbanded Leafroller: ../Platymota stultana/ Strawberry Crown Borer: ../Synanthedon bibionipennis/ Strawberry Crownminer: ../Monochroa fragariae/ Variegated Leafroller: ../Platynota flavedana/ ../Mites/ Cyclamen Mite: ../Steneotarsonemus pallidus/ ../Millipedes/ ../Slugs and Snails/ Gallery References Ann Fowler Rhoads and Timothy A. Block Anna Anisko, illustrator The Plants of Pennsylvania: An Illustrated Manual 2000 Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania Press 605–606 P. D. Strausbaugh and Earl L. Core Flora of West Virginia Second 1977 Seneca Books, Grantsville, W. Virginia 490–493 Christopher Brickell and Judith D. Zuk The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants 1997 DK Publishing 443 Staff of the L. H. Bailey Hortorium Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada 1976 Cornell University Press 484 Cranshaw Whitney Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs 2004 Princeton University Press 596 Pippa Greenwood, Andrew Halstead, A.R. Chase, Daniel Gilrein American Horticultural Society Pests & Diseases: The Complete Guide to Preventing, Identifying, and Treating Plant Problems First Edition 2000 Dorling Kindersley (DK) Publishing, inc. 205 Darrow, George M. The Strawberry: History, Breeding and Physiology. New York. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966. Available online. List of Fragaria resources, USDA GRIN Fragaria Taxonomy Database Listing of Fragaria species, also from a USDA website Medicinal uses of strawberries in Armenia Fragaria chiloensis pictures from Chilebosque Strawberry pest management guidelines Crossing of cv. 'Mieze Schindler' with cv. 'Elsanta' y y