ORIGIN AND BOTANY 155 



is found more commonly in woods and in open fields. 

 Possibly this may explain its name, which means "high 

 wood," but more likely this refers to the habit of the 

 species of bearing fruit on long, stout stems, elevated 

 above the leaves. The foliage is large, tall, pale green, 

 downy beneath. The ripe berries are round or oval, 

 larger than in F. vesca, brownish or pale red, occasionally 

 greenish, and have a strong musky flavor, which has been 

 described as "a sort of mixture between the black currant 

 and the raspberry." The flavor, while rich, is not agree- 

 able to most people, which accounts for the slight interest 

 that has been shown in the improvement of this species. 



Another serious defect of the Hautbois is its unproduc- 

 tiveness. Some plants bear no flowers at all, or only 

 abortive flowers. Many plants show a distinct tendency 

 to be dkjecious, some of the blossoms being pistillate, others 

 almost purely staminate, with no pistils whatever. There 

 are also perfect flowered plants ; but one or the other sex 

 of an apparently perfect flower may not function. The 

 Hautbois served a very useful purpose in directing atten- 

 tion to the sex of the strawberry; the experiments of 

 Duchesne were with this species. In spite of its faults,^ 

 the Hautbois was widely grown in European gardens until 

 the middle of the nineteenth century. The first named 

 variety of the strawberry was of this species. According 

 to Parkinson, it was introduced into England about 1600. 



The Hautbois never achieved popularity in America. 

 William R. French states : "The Hautbois was introduced 

 in America in early colonial days, but the bisexual plants 

 were mixed with pure staminate, which soon ran out the 

 others, leaving the beds unfruitful. By the time the sexual 

 selection of the strawberry was better understood there 

 were better native varieties." The only variety grown in 



