''Fragaria virginiana'', known as Virginia strawberry, wild strawberry, common strawberry, or mountain strawberry, is a North American strawberry that grows across much of the United States and southern Canada. It is one of the two species of
wild strawberry that were
hybridized to create the modern domesticated
garden 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 app ...
(''Fragaria'' × ''ananassa'').
Subspecies
There are four recognized subspecies:
:*''Fragaria virginiana'' subsp. ' (formerly known as ''F. ovalis'')
:*''Fragaria virginiana'' subsp. ''grayana''
:*''Fragaria virginiana'' subsp. ''platypetala''
:*''Fragaria virginiana'' subsp. ''virginiana''
Cytology
![Fragaria virginiana 3243](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Fragaria_virginiana_3243.JPG)
All strawberries have a base
haploid
Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...
count of 7
chromosomes
A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...
. ''Fragaria virginiana'' is
octoploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...
, having eight sets of these chromosomes for a total of 56. These eight genomes pair as four distinct sets, of two different types, with little or no pairing between sets. The genome composition of the octoploid strawberry species has generally been indicated as AAA'A'BBB'B'. The A-type genomes were likely contributed by diploid ancestors related to ''
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 ...
'' or similar species, while the B-type genomes seem to descend from a close relative of ''
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 ...
''. The exact process of hybridization and speciation which resulted in the octoploid species is still unknown, but it appears that the genome compositions of both ''
Fragaria chiloensis
''Fragaria chiloensis'', the beach strawberry, Chilean strawberry, or coastal strawberry, is one of two species of wild strawberry that were hybridized to create the modern garden strawberry (''F. × ananassa''). It is native to the Pacific Oce ...
'' and ''Fragaria virginiana'' (and by extension their hybrid, the cultivated octoploid
garden 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 app ...
as well) are identical.
Description
''Fragaria virginiana'' can grow up to tall. The plant typically bears numerous
trifoliate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
leaves that are green on top, pale green on the lower surface. Each
leaflet is about long and wide. The leaflet is oval shaped and has coarse teeth along the edge except near the bottom. This plant has a five-
petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
ed white flower with numerous
pistil
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
s, surrounded by yellow-anthered
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s. There are ten small green
sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
s under the petals. The seeds of this plant are developed from the pistils in the centre of the flower which will become dark-coloured fruit (
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) on the strawberry. The fruit of the wild strawberry is smaller than that of the garden strawberry (''Fragaria × ananassa''). Botanically, the fruit is classified as an
aggregate
Aggregate or aggregates may refer to:
Computing and mathematics
* collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...
accessory fruit
An accessory fruit is a fruit in which some of the flesh is derived not from the floral ovary but from some adjacent tissue exterior to the carpel.Esau, K. 1977. ''Anatomy of seed plants''. John Wiley and Sons, New York. Accessory fruits are us ...
, but it is commonly called a berry.
Strawberries reproduce both sexually by seed, and asexually by runners (
stolons
In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...
).
Taxonomy
''Fragaria virginiana'' Mill. is considered to be the valid name for this plant by a number of authorities
(and was described by
Philip Miller
Philip Miller FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden for nearly 50 years from 1722, and wrote the highly popular ''The Gardeners Dictio ...
in 1768
in the eighth edition of ''The Gardeners Dictionary)''.
According to the
International Plant Names Index
The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) describes itself as "a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes." Coverage of plant names is best at the rank of species and genus. It inclu ...
the name, ''Fragaria virginiana'' Duchesne, published by
Antoine Nicolas Duchesne
Antoine Nicolas Duchesne (born 7 October 1747 Versailles; died 18 February 1827 Paris) was a French botanist known for his keen observation of variation within species, and for demonstrating that species are not immutable, because mutations can occ ...
in 1766,
is an invalid name.
However, other authorities consider the valid name to be ''Fragaria virginiana'' Duchesne.
Uses
The berries are edible. A popular type called "
Little Scarlet
Little Scarlet is a type of ''Fragaria virginiana'', a wild strawberry, and the name of a jam made from it. The species of strawberry is from North America but this selection is grown only in Britain.
This tiny berry is approximately one fifth the ...
" is grown in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, having been imported from the
United States
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 ...
in the early 1900s.
Similar species
The plants resemble ''
Hesperochiron pumilus
''Hesperochiron'' is a small genus of plants in the waterleaf family containing two species native to western North America. These are thick-rooted perennial herbs growing in squat patches at ground level and producing bluish-white flowers with ...
'', but have distinct leaves and more than five stamens.
References
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q978247
virginiana
Flora of North America
Plants described in 1766