''Fragaria'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family,

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. There are more than 20 described species and many hybrids and cultivars. The most common strawberries grown commercially are cultivars of the garden strawberry, a hybrid known as ''Fragaria'' × ''ananassa''. Strawberries have a taste that varies by cultivar, and ranges from quite sweet to rather tart. Strawberries are an important commercial fruit crop, widely grown in all temperate regions of the world.

Description

Strawberries are not berries in the botanical sense.Esau, K. 1977. ''Anatomy of seed plants''. John Wiley and Sons, New York. The fleshy and edible part of the "fruit" is a

receptacle Receptacle may refer to: Biology * Receptacle (botany), a plant anatomical part * Seminal receptacle, a sperm storage site in some insects Electrical engineering * Automobile auxiliary power outlet, formerly known as ''cigarette lighter recep ...

, and the parts that are sometimes mistakenly called "seeds" are

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

s and therefore the true botanical fruits.

Etymology

The genus name derives from ("

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

") and , a suffix used to create feminine nouns and plant names. The Latin name is thought in turn to derive from a

PIE A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...

root meaning "

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

". The genus name is sometimes mistakenly derived from ("to be fragrant, to reek"). The English word is found in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

as ''streawberige''. It is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, though it has been suggested that the word is possibly derived from "strewn berry" in reference to the runners that "strew" or "stray away" from the base of the plants. ''Streaw'' in Old English means 'straw', but also ''streawian'' means 'to strew', from the same root. David Mikkelson argues that "the word 'strawberry' has been part of the English language for at least a thousand years, well before strawberries were cultivated as garden or farm edibles."

Classification

There are more than 20 different ''Fragaria'' species worldwide. A number of other species have been proposed, some of which are now recognized as subspecies. One key to the classification of strawberry species is that they vary in the number of chromosomes. They all have seven basic ''types'' of chromosomes, but exhibit different polyploidy. Some species are diploid, having two sets of the seven chromosomes (14 chromosomes total), but 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. The oldest fossils confidently classifiable as ''Fragaria'' are from the Miocene of Poland. Fossilised ''Fragaria'' achenes are also known from the Pliocene of China.

Diploid species

* ''Fragaria'' × ''bifera'' Duchesne - ''F. vesca'' × ''F. viridis'' (Europe) *''

Fragaria bucharica ''Fragaria'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. There are more than 20 described species and many hybrids and cultivars. The most common strawberries grown com ...

'' Losinsk. (China) *''

Fragaria daltoniana ''Fragaria daltoniana'' is a species of strawberry native to the Himalayas. Its fruit has a poor flavor, and is of no commercial value.Fragaria emeiensis ''Fragaria emeiensis'' is a species of strawberry native to the Emei Mountains within Sichuan Province in south-western China. This species was discovered during the construction of a pan-genome for the strawberry. Description All strawberri ...

'' Jia J. Lei (China) *'' Fragaria gracilis'' Losinsk. (China) *''

Fragaria iinumae ''Fragaria iinumae'' is a species of Fragaria, strawberry native to Japan and eastern Russia. In Japan it was first discovered on and the name was given. All strawberries have a base haploid count of 7 chromosomes. ''Fragaria iinumae'' is dip ...

'' Makino (East Russia, Japan) *''

Fragaria mandshurica ''Fragaria'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. There are more than 20 described species and many hybrids and cultivars. The most common strawberries grown com ...

'' Staudt (China) *''

Fragaria nilgerrensis ''Fragaria nilgerrensis'' is a species of wild strawberry native to southern and southeast Asia. Its fruit are white to light pink, with poor flavour, and the fruit is of no commercial value. It is similar in appearance to '' F. moupinensis''. ...

'' Schlecht. ex J.Gay (

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and Southeast Asia) *''

Fragaria nipponica ''Fragaria nipponica'' is a species of wild strawberry native to the western side of the Japanese island of Honshū, with a variety ''Fragaria nipponica'' var. ''yakusimensis'' on Yakushima. Some botanists treat it as a synonym of ''Fragaria y ...

Makino History Makino was established in 1937 by Tsunezo Makino in Japan, developing Japan's first numerical control, numerically controlled (NC) milling machine in 1958 and Japan's first milling machine, machining centre in 1966. The North America ...

( Korea,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

) *''

Fragaria nubicola ''Fragaria nubicola'' is a species of wild strawberry native to the Himalayas. It is of no commercial value.Lindl. ex Lacaita ( Himalayas) *''

Fragaria pentaphylla ''Fragaria pentaphylla'' is a tetraploid species of wild strawberry native to China. In Chinese, it is called the "five-leaf strawberry" (). Description Usually 6–15 cm tall, this species usually blooms around April to May, the fruits ...

'' Losinsk. (China) *''

Fragaria vesca ''Fragaria vesca'', commonly called the wild strawberry, woodland strawberry, Alpine strawberry, Carpathian strawberry or European strawberry, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the rose family that grows naturally throughout much of the Northe ...

'' L. - woodland strawberry (

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

) *''

Fragaria viridis ''Fragaria viridis'', commonly called creamy strawberry or green strawberry is a species of strawberry native to Europe and central Asia. It has fruits with fine flavour. They have surprisingly little of the usual strawberry aroma, but a refresh ...

Duchesne Duchesne is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Joseph Duchesne (c. 1544–1609), French physician and chemist. Physician-in-ordinary to King Henry IV * André Duchesne (1584–1640), French historian * François Duchesne (1616� ...

( Europe, Central Asia) *''

Fragaria yezoensis ''Fragaria yezoensis'' is a species of wild strawberry native to the eastern side of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and the adjacent Kuril Islands and Sakhalin in Russia. It is of no economic value. Some botanists include the very similar '' ...

'' H.Hara (Northeast Asia)

Tetraploid species

*''

Fragaria moupinensis ''Fragaria moupinensis'' is a species of wild strawberry native to China. It is similar in appearance to '' F. nilgerrensis''. All strawberries have a base monoploid count of 7 chromosomes. ''Fragaria moupinensis'' is tetraploid Polyploidy ...

'' Cardot (China) *''

Fragaria orientalis ''Fragaria orientalis'' is a diploid species of wild strawberry native to E. Asia – Eastern Siberia. It is occasionally cultivated as a novelty edible. It is written as 东方草莓 in Simplified Chinese and called (pinyin: dong fang cao mei) ...

'' Losinsk. (Eastern Asia, Eastern Siberia)

Pentaploid hybrids

* ''Fragaria'' × ''bringhurstii'' Staudt ( coast of California)

Hexaploid species

*''

Fragaria moschata The musk strawberry or hautbois strawberry (''Fragaria moschata''), is a species of strawberry native to Europe. Its French name ''hautbois'' strawberry may be anglicised as hautboy strawberry. The plants are hardy and can survive in many weather ...

- musk strawberry (Europe)

Octoploid species and hybrids

* ''Fragaria'' × ''ananassa''

ex Rozier - garden strawberry, pineapple strawberry *'' Fragaria chiloensis'' ( L.) Mill. - beach strawberry (Western

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

) **''Fragaria chiloensis'' subsp. ''chiloensis'' forma ''chiloensis'' **''Fragaria chiloensis'' subsp. ''chiloensis'' forma ''patagonica'' ( Argentina, Chile) **''Fragaria chiloensis'' subsp. ''lucida'' (E. Vilm. ex Gay) Staudt ( coast of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California) **''Fragaria chiloensis'' subsp. ''pacifica'' Staudt (coast of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California) **''Fragaria chiloensis'' subsp. ''sandwicensis'' ( Decne.) Staudt - ''ōhelo papa'' ( Hawaii) *'' Fragaria virginiana'' Mill. - Virginia strawberry (

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

)

Decaploid species and hybrids

*''

Fragaria cascadensis ''Fragaria cascadensis'' is a species of strawberry found in the Cascades Mountains described in 2012. The vernacular name Cascade strawberry was suggested by the describing author. Taxonomy ''F. cascadensis'' was first described in 2012 by K ...

'' K.E. Hummer (Cascade Mountains in Oregon) *''

Fragaria iturupensis ''Fragaria iturupensis'', the Iturup strawberry, is a species of wild strawberry, endemic to Iturup in the Kuril Islands. It is noted to have relatively large berries for a wild species, similar in appearance to those of ''Fragaria virginiana'' ...

Staudt Staudt is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a community belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography The municipal area lies at elevations from 260 to 285 m above sea level. The community ...

- Iturup strawberry (

Iturup , other_names = russian: Итуру́п; ja, 択捉島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 3139 , length_km = 200 , width_km = 27 , coastline = , highest_moun ...

, Kuril Islands) * ''Fragaria'' × ''Comarum'' hybrids *''

Fragaria × vescana ''Fragaria'' × ''vescana'' is a hybrid strawberry cultivar that was created in an effort to combine the best traits of the garden strawberry (''Fragaria'' × ''ananassa''), which has large berries and vigorous plants, with the woodland strawbe ...

Uncategorized hybrids

*'Lipstick' (''Fragaria'' × ''Comarum'' hybrid), red-flowered runnering ornamental, sparse small globular fruits. *''

'' and certain other diploid species can be hybridized and produce fertile offspring (although ''

'' appears less compatible). *''

'' can hybridize with diploid species such as ''

'' and ''

Fragaria nubicola ''Fragaria nubicola'' is a species of wild strawberry native to the Himalayas. It is of no commercial value.Fragaria moschata The musk strawberry or hautbois strawberry (''Fragaria moschata''), is a species of strawberry native to Europe. Its French name ''hautbois'' strawberry may be anglicised as hautboy strawberry. The plants are hardy and can survive in many weather ...

'' can hybridize with ''Fragaria'' × ''ananassa''.

Ecology

A number of species of

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

and moths feed on strawberry plants: see

list of Lepidoptera that feed on strawberry plants Strawberries (''Fragaria'' species) are used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species including: *Angle shades (''Phlogophora meticulosa'') *Brown-tail (''Euproctis chrysorrhoea'') *Common marbled carpet (''Chloroclysta tr ...

References

External links

Species records in the database (for the query: genus = ''Fragaria'')
from the

U.S. National Plant Germplasm System The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

website {{Authority control Berries Stoloniferous plants Rosaceae genera