VIRGINIAN OR SCARLET STRAWBERRY 429 



World group, and the Chilian or Pacific group. All 

 these groups are perplexiugly variable. 



The Virginian strawberry is the common field and 

 meadow strawberry of the eastern states. It has 

 received many names from botanists, 

 the oldest being Fragaria Virgin iana 

 of Duchesne (1766). Its features are 

 clearly depicted in Figs. 112, 113 and 

 114, the bluntish- toothed, thickish 

 leaflets overtopping the flowers, the 

 small drooping -rayed fruit truss, and 

 the globular -pitted berry. On moun- Fig. 114. Fruit of 

 tains and along our northern borders ^^TJ^' 

 and in Canada, the plant becomes 

 squat, and this form was called Fragaria Canadensis 

 by Michaux. I have seen Michaux's specimens in his 

 herbarium at Paris (from Lake Mistassinica) , and they 

 look distinct enough from the field strawberry of lower 

 latitudes and altitudes ; but it is doubtful if it is worth 

 while to keep them apart as distinct species. William 

 R. Prince, the Long Island nurseryman, proposed two 

 large prairie forms of the strawberry as distinct spe- 

 cies in 1862 (Proc. Amer. Pom. Soc. viii. 206), naming 

 them Fragaria lowensis and F. Illinoensis. The latter 

 name has since been used for the larger-growing forms 

 of the species, as Frayaria Virghnatia var. lU'ni<n')txix. 



The native strawberry of Europe is characterized by 

 thin, light green, and sharp-toothed leaflets, which are 

 overtopped by the flowers, by 'a small and weak truss, 

 and a more or less elongated berry with the seeds not 

 imbedded in the flesh. This type of strawberry is also 

 common in the northernmost states and Canada, and 

 throughout our mountain systems. There is some 



