Fragaria
(from Fraga, the old Latin name, from the same root as fragrans, fragrant; referring to the perfume of the fruit). Strawberry. ORD. Rosaceae. A genus of three or four species of hardy (except where otherwise stated) perennial scapigerous herbs, with runners, natives of North temperate regions, the Andes, Sandwich Islands, and Bourbon. Flowers white or yellow, honeyed, often polygamous; achenes many, minute, embedded on the surface of the large convex fleshy receptacle. Leaves three-foliolate (in the British species), pinnate or one-foliolate. Several of the so-called species have, without doubt, originated from two or three; many of them, however, preserve a well-marked character. For cultivation, see Strawberry.
F. chilensis (Chilian).* fl. white; sepals erect; peduncles thick and silky. April and May. fr. rose-coloured, flesh white, pendulous. l., leaflets obovate, obtuse, serrated, coriaceous, wrinkled, silky beneath. h. 1ft. South America, 1727.
F. c. grandiflora (large-flowered).* Pine Strawberry. fl. white; sepals reflexed; peduncles thick. April and May. fr. red. l., leaflets glaucous, coriaceous, broadly crenated, pilose beneath. h. 1ft. 1759.
F. collina (hill). Green Pine. fl. white; sepals, after flowering, erect. April to June. fr. green. l., leaflets plicate, thin, silky above and pilose beneath. h. 9in. Europe, 1798.
F. elatior (taller). Hautbois. fl. white; sepals at length reflexed on the peduncles. April and May. Receptacle firm, adhering but little to the calyx. l., leaflets plicate, rather coriaceous, green. h. 1ft. Europe. This, which is much larger than F. vesca, is probably derived from that species; it is frequently met with as a garden escape in a semi-naturalised condition in Britain. (Sy. En. B. 439.)
F. indica (Indian).* fl. golden-yellow; calyx ten-parted, outer five segments accessory, large, foliaceous, tridentate at the apex, and spreading; peduncles axillary, solitary, one-flowered. May to October. fr. red, insipid, numerous. l. trifoliolate; leaflets cuneate-ovate, deep green, crenated. India, Japan, &c., 1805. A very pretty little greenhouse trailer. (A. B. R. 479.)
F. vesca (edible). Common Wild Strawberry. fl. white; sepals at length reflexed. April and May. fr. pendulous. l., leaflets plicate, thin, pilose beneath. h. 6in. to 12in. Britain. (Sy. En. B. 438.)
F. v. monophylla (one-leaved). Alpine Strawberry. fl. white. May. fr. round, small, pendulous; receptacle elongated, red. l. simple, crenately toothed. h. 6in. Europe, 1773. (B. M. 63.)
F. virginiana (Virginian). Scarlet Strawberry. fl. white; peduncles and pedicels length of leaves. April. fr. deep red when ripe; receptacle very tumid, pendulous. h. 1ft. North America, 1629.