POTENTILLA 



have both stamens and pistils, but the blossoms of 

 the cultivated Strawberry frequently have pistils and 

 stamens in different flowers. 



To a botanist the fruit of the Strawberry is not a 

 berry, that definition being limited to fruits having a 

 juicy pulp and containing many seeds, like the currant 

 or the grape. The body of the Strawberry is the en- 

 larged top of the flower-stem, and this bears the seeds 

 of the plant in shallow pits on its surface. These seeds 

 are so small that we do not notice them when eating 

 the fruit, but each one is a tiny nut, almond-shaped 

 and containing within its shell the seed which will 

 produce future plants. r. *«kt«k «•<• k»^tr«ctt»%> 



The northern Wild Strawberry, Fragdria AmeHeanay 

 frequently appears at the edge of woods and in rocky 

 places. This is the more delicate species, the leaves 

 thinner and lighter, and the cluster of flowers rises 

 above the leaves. The fruit is slender and pointed, 

 often wdth a neck, and of most delicious flavor; the 

 seed-like akenes apparently stick to the surface of the 

 the berry, and are not sunk in the pits. 



Frequent in northern Ohio, but not abundant. 



^^ POTENTILLA. FIVE-FINGERS 



Potentilla Canadensis 



Potentilla, from potens, powerful, because some mem- 

 bers of the species have medicinal value. 



Perennial. Roadsides and fields, growing in mats and 

 patches; common and variable; produces summer runners. 

 Nova Scotia, New England, south to Georgia, west to 

 Minnesota and Indian Territory. Abundant in northern 

 Ohio. April-September. 



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