ORIGIN AND BOTANY 153 



Bolivia wild strawberries are on the market four or five 

 months of the year. Wild berries have been picked near 

 San Francisco from January until August. The North 

 American form of F. chiloensis has not given any valuable 

 varieties. 



F. vesca. — This is the common wild strawberry of 

 Europe. The Wood strawberry of England, which has 

 round berries, and the Alpine, or Monthly strawberry of 

 the continent, which has long berries, both belong to this 

 species. The European type has been naturalized in 

 eastern and central North America to some extent, but a 

 widespread native species, F. americana, resembles the 

 European form so closely that many botanists consider 

 the two identical. It differs chiefly in the shape of the 

 fruit, which is ovoid or subconic, instead of hemispheric, 

 usually has a distinct neck and is somewhat less pubes- 

 cent and more slender. It is common in the East from 

 Newfoundland to North Carolina and southwest to 

 Oklahoma, preferring shady, rocky places, especially in 

 mountains. The plant is tall, slender, erect, softly villose 

 with small blossoms and long, slender runners. The 

 leaflets are thin, light green, silky when young but gla- 

 brate on both sides when old, and sharp toothed. The 

 fruit is borne on weak scapes, much longer than the leaf 

 stalks. The berry is very small, long, hemispheric or 

 conic, pointed, often necked, light scarlet. The prominent 

 seeds are close together, but are not imbedded in the 

 flesh. The calyx is small and recurved; the flesh 

 whitish and of rich flavor. No valuable varieties have 

 come from the American form of F. vesca, nor does the 

 species show much promise. The white-fruited form is 

 common from New York and Massachusetts to Kentucky 

 and Ohio. 



