CHAPTER XXIV 



BOTANY OF THE STRAWBERRY 



A strawberry is the juicy, edible, spurious 

 fruit of any species of Fragaria, a genus be- 

 longing to the order of Rosacese. The fruit, 

 as an esculent, is spurious because the edible 

 part is the receptacle which terminates the 

 flower-stalk, the true fruits being the dry 

 achenes borne on the enlarged receptacle. 

 This fruit-like receptacle, when ripe, is a solid, 

 round, pulpy, cone-shaped structure, usually 

 red, about the base of which is a flat rim to 

 which were attached the floral and 

 reproductive organs. Fig. 293 shows 

 the strawberry flower and fruit. The 

 flowers of the strawberry are in vary- 

 ing degrees polygamo-dicecious, cross- 

 pollination being usually brought 

 about by insects. In many culti- 

 vated varieties the flowers lack 

 stamens, and fruits do not develop 

 unless pollen is brought from another 

 flower. 



The strawberry plant is a low, 

 stemless perennial, propagated from 

 stolons which spread over the sur- 

 face of the ground. The white flow- 

 ers are borne in cymes on more or 

 less erect scapes. The radical leaves 

 are made up of three leaflets which 

 are oboyate-wedge-form and coarsely serrate. 

 The fruits ripen in late spring or early sum- 

 mer, with sometimes a second crop in the 

 autumn. With this simple outline of the 

 botany of the strawberry in mind, we are ready 

 to discuss the character and growth-habits of 

 the plant which are of importance to po- 

 mologists. 



For descriptive purposes the strawberry- 

 plant may be divided into root, stolon, leaf, 

 flower, and fruit. The strawberry-grower must 

 know the gross structure of these organs, not 

 only that he may identify species and varie- 

 ties, but also that he may propagate, trans- 

 plant, and otherwise care for the plants prop- 

 erly. He must know the several species and 

 something of their origin, history, and habits 

 of growth, that he may understand their adap- 

 tations to soils and climates, their relation 

 to strawberry pests, and for what purposes 

 they are best adapted. Although the plant 

 is a complex organism, and the species are 

 closely related, the pomologist has little diffi- 

 culty in distinguishing the parts of the plant, 

 and in separating the species with which he 

 is concerned. 



CHARACTERS OP THE PLANT 



The four species of Fragaria with which 

 strawberry-growers are concerned have very 



characteristic plants, and many varieties are 

 distinguished by the aspect of the plant. The 

 character most in evidence in giving aspect 

 is size. Is the plant tall or dwarf, compact 

 or spreading? Size and vigor must be dis- 

 tinguished; a large plant may lack vigor and 

 a small one have it. Habit of growth goes 

 far toward giving aspect to the plant. Thus, 

 the radical leaves may stand upright or take 

 a drooping position; the plants may be open 



293. Flower and fruit of strawberry. A Section of 

 strawberry flower; B Section of strawberry fruit. 

 a. Sepal; b, petal; c, stamen; d, carpel. 



or compact; some plants grow rapidly, others 

 slowly. All of these are reliable characters 

 in identification, when proper allowance is 

 made for care and environment. They are of 

 importance, also, in determining how far apart 

 the plants should be set, the method to be 

 adopted in laying out the plantation, and the 

 care the plants are to receive. 



Species and varieties differ much in ability 

 to make new plants. One of the marked char- 

 acteristics of F. chiloensis, characters of which 

 are found in the lineage of most cultivated 

 varieties, is its ability to reproduce rapidly. 

 Not only are numbers of new plants to be 

 noted, but account must be taken of the 

 manner in which the plants are borne. 



The stolons or runners extend horizontally 

 over the surface of the ground, bearing buds, 

 which become fixed in the ground, and from 

 which develop shoots and roots. The num- 

 ber of plants depends on the number and 

 vigor of the buds. Varieties to be planted 

 in dry or hot regions must have roots which 

 penetrate deeply into the soil. The number of 

 plants a variety makes helps to determine the 

 distance apart to set the plants; this number 

 varies from one or two to forty or fifty. 



Runners vary much in the character of the 

 internodes. Some runner cords are thick and 

 stout or even fleshy, others long and slender 

 and wiry. Runners with short internodes may 



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