''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 (''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

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, respective ...

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 ar ...

. ''Fragaria virginiana'' is octoploid, 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''. 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'' and ''Fragaria virginiana'' (and by extension their hybrid, the cultivated octoploid garden strawberry 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 leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

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 fila ...

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 coine ...

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 o ...

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, but it is commonly called a berry. Strawberries reproduce both sexually by seed, and asexually by runners ( stolons).

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 Dicti ...

in 1768 in the eighth edition of ''The Gardeners Dictionary)''. According to the International Plant Names Index 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" 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 ...

, 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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