FRAG ARIA, STRAWBERRY PLANT. 225 



& consequently lots of flowers. The uprights, the runners, & the leafstalks are covered 

 with short, delicate, & not very thick hair. 



The flowers open fully since the sections of the calyx open out enough to make a 

 right angle with the pedicel of the flower. They fall back upon the pedicel only after the 

 fruit has enlarged there and forces them to lose their initial orientation. This is a 

 characteristic feature of the flowers of most strawberry plants on our continent. The 

 flowers emerging from the first nodes of the upright shoot are nine or ten lignes in 

 diameter. They often have more than five petals, & the sections of the calyx are prone to 

 the abnormalities mentioned in the general description. The fruits that develop from these 

 flowers are the biggest ones & often are irregular. I've never seen an irregularly shaped 

 one of these strawberries in the wild, & they're rarely found among those in the first crop 

 of strawberry plants transplanted in kitchen gardens. Consequently these deformities can 

 only be attributable to the plentiful nourishment that makes the plant very vigorous & 

 richly productive. 



The fruit of this strawberry plant, both in the wild and in kitchen gardens, is 

 shortened with a height less than its diameter, or elongated into an oval shape with a 

 height the same or greater than the diameter. The wild strawberry looks appealing when 

 it's six lignes in diameter & the same in height. Following the first harvest in cultivated 

 areas, there are some that are nine lignes in diameter & six to ten lignes high. 



The skin is a vivid & brilliant deep red on the side facing the sun; the other side is 

 a lighter red. Some spots are a slightly greenish white or a very light, pale red. 



Everyone is familiar with the delicacy of its flesh, its flavor, & its fragrance. 



