THE SMALL FRUITS OF NEW YORK 359 



excepting the Alpine strawberry, var. semperflorens efflagellis, to be dis- 

 cussed later, has found a place in fruit gardens. 



It remains now to be said that F. vesca is fovind rather commonly in 

 its var. Americana in eastern North America, and that, as with the type 

 species in Europe, no garden variety of note has ever arisen from it. 

 Here, as abroad, plants and fruits fall far short of the common garden 

 strawberry. 



The Alpine strawberry, F. vesca semperflorens efflagellis, is the ever- 

 bearing strawberry of Europe and has been cultivated more or less, formerly 

 more than now, for its long-fruiting season. It is a native of the southern 

 slopes of the Alps, hence the name Alpine. From its everbearing habit it 

 is sometimes called the Monthly, and the Perpetual strawberry. There 

 are several points of difference between this form and the type, chief of which 

 is, of course, the summer and autumn-fniiting habit of the variety; but, 

 besides, the fruits are seldom as elongate, and the peduncles are longer and 

 bend downward with the weight of fruit 



This strawberry was described as a garden plant in the middle of the 

 eighteenth century but was known by botanists at least 200 years before. 

 Possibly some 50 or 60 varieties of these everbearing strawberries have been 

 grown in Europe with more or less success, a few with marked success. 

 Several of these have been white-fruiting sorts, and one, the Bush Alpine, 

 was runnerless, of which there was also a white-fruited variety. From time 

 to time varieties of Alpine strawberries have been introduced in America, 

 usually with extravagant claims as to the autumn-bearing habit, but no 

 pure-bred garden variety of it has proved of value in this country. 



THE HAUTBOIS STRAWBERRY 



Another European strawberry long under cultivation but now of little 

 importance is Fragaria moschata, the Hautbois strawberry, distinguished 

 from F. vesca chiefly by the larger plant, an inflorescence that is almost or 

 quite umbellate, and a strong musky flavor in the fruit. Under cultivation 

 there have been hybrids with F. vesca and no doubt these have occurred in 

 the wild as well so that there is more or less difficulty in keeping the two 

 species distinct. The flowers of this species are dioecious and since in its 

 early cultivation nothing was known of sex in plants, males were destroyed, 

 whereupon, of course, the females bore no fruits. While common in many 

 parts of Europe, this species is not as widely distributed as is F. vesca in 

 the Old Worid. 



