FKAGARIA 



FRAQAEIA (Lutiu i'nujrure, fratcraiice, from the 

 smell of the fruit). Bosiicecv. Strawbekry. A small 

 genus of low perennial herbs in the north temperate 

 zone and aiona; the American Conlilleran reffion. The 

 Ivs. are painiately 3-foliolate and toothed, all from the 

 crown of the plant: fls. white or yellow, in corymbose 

 racemes on slender, leafless scapes, sometimes iackint; 

 stamens ; calyx deeply 5-lobed and reinforced by 5 

 sepal-like bracts ; petals 5, ohovate ; stamens many, 

 short ; pistils many, on a conical receptacle, becominf,' 

 small and hard akenes ami persisting on the enlarging 

 receptacle. The enlarged receptacle becc.mes pulpy and 

 edible in the Strawberry, or Fragaria proper, but it re- 

 mains small in Duchesiiea. See Figs. 8i;(j, 827. Fra- 

 garias propagate naturally by means of runners. 



The Fragarias are exceedingly variable. About 130 

 specific names have been applied to them, but there are 

 probably not more than a dozen forms which are dis- 

 linct enough to be clearly distinguished as species. 

 Bentham and Hooker would reduce them all to three or 

 four species- Of the true Fragarias, four species-types 



FUAGKANT BAL.M 



605 



861, Fragaria Virginiana. 



are interesting to the horticulturist as the pareots of 

 the garden Strawberries, — i''. Chi loensit^, the original of 

 the ordinary cultivated Strawberries of America ; F. 

 Virginiana, which was early domesticated, and of which 

 some trace still remains in cultivated varieties ; F . mos- 

 '•/mirt, the Hautbois, and F. vescn ,Xhe alpine and per- 

 petual Strawberries, which ai-e little cultivated in this 

 country. Aside from these, the Indian Strawberry, or 

 Duchesnea, i^ cultivated as a basket and rock plant. 

 For a sketcli of the evolution of Strawberries, see Essay 

 25, Bailey's "Survival of the Unlike." The classical 

 work on Strawberries is Duchesne's "Histoire Naturelle 

 des Fraisiers." J7G6. See Strawherry . 



A. True Stkawberries, hearing an edible "berry" {or 



receptacle), and u'iih a- more or fefis npright habit: 



fls. tvhife. 



H. Lvs. normally overtopping the fls. and- fr.: akenes 



mostly sunken i)i the flesh of the berry. 



Chilo6nsis, Duchesne. Fig. 859. Low, but stout in all 



its parts: ivy. thick, more or less glossy above, bluish 



wliite below, blunt-toothed : tl. -clusters forking and 

 long-rayed, the pedunciu short, soon lopping on the 

 ground; runtiers mostly appearing after the frnit is 

 gone: berry large and tlrm, dark-colored, more or less 

 musky in flavor, reinforced by a very large calyx or 

 hull. Pacific coast region of S. Amer. A common wild 

 Strawberry of the Pacific slope of N. Amer. is referred 

 to this species, l)nt it is a question whether it is identi- 

 cal with the S. American form. 



Var. anaa^ssa, Hort. {F. anandssa, F. tiitcta, F. 

 calyciilatti, Duchesne. F. grandifldra, Ehrh.J. Pine 

 Strawberry. Common Garden Strawberry. Taller 

 growing: lvs. larger and thinner, mostly lighter green 

 on both sides : fr. larger, running into very many kinds. 



Virginiana, Duchesne (F. lowensis and F. Illinoen- 

 sis, Prince). Scarlet or Virginian Strawberry. 

 Figs. 8G0, Stil, 8G2. More slender: lvs. thinner, light 

 green above and below, the upper surface with sunken 

 veins: ti. -clusters small, with a few hanging fruits at. 

 the top of a rather long peduncle: runners usually ap- 

 pearing with the fruit: berry 

 small, light scarlet, globular or 

 oblong-conical, usually with a 

 constriction or neck underneath 

 the moderate-s,zed calyx or 

 hull. E. North Amer. — Vari- 

 able. The larger and more hairy 

 forms have been sejiarated as 

 var. Iltino^nsis, Gniy, but it is 

 difficult to define them from the 

 type; and the same is true of 

 the boreal forms, which have 

 been detached as F. Canaden- 

 sis, Michx. A few early varie- 

 ties of Strawberries, as Crystal 

 < 'ity, seem to be wholly or 

 partly of F. Mrgiaiana origin. 



UB. Lvs. normally shorter thun 



tlie fl.-cliistrrs : akenes 



iisualli/ ■>iot siDiken in the 



flfsh oftlii' brrry. 



v6sca, Linn. ( /'. sfniperflo- 



rens, Duchesne). Alpine and 



I-" E R PE T u a L Strawberries. 



Erect and dark green, only 

 sparsely hairy, the lvs. thin and light green as com- 

 pared with the foregoing species, very sharp-toothed : 

 tl. -cluster small, forking, erect : berry firm, small, 

 usually oblong-conical, the akenes very prominent; 

 hull spreading. Eu. — The American representative of 

 this species — common in woods N. — is tht.ught by some 

 to be a distinct species, and it has received the name 

 F. Aniprieana , Britt. ; but it is doubtful if it can bo 

 separated. See Figs. 8(33, 8G4. The true F. ve.sca is 

 thouglit to be sparingly naturalized eastward. The 

 native plant often bears white fruit. The cult, forms 

 are rarely seen in this country, but the quality is high, 

 and they are dese^^■ing of more attention in home 

 grounds. Variable in cult. There is a form with leaflets 

 reduced to one {F. monopliyUa, Duchesne, I^.IVf. ('.:!). 

 This type of Strawherry bears more continuously than 

 F. Chiloensis and F. S'lrginiana. The so-called Mexi- 

 can or Everbearing Strawberry wliir-h has l)een intro- 

 duced at times is F. Jlrxira-na, Schlecht., which is an- 

 other form of the vescan type. Oti the Pacific slope, the 

 type possiblv mav be represented bv F. Californica, 

 Cham. ^ Schlecht. 



moschata. Duchesne (F. eldiior, Ehrh.). Hautbois. 

 Taller, usually dioecious, more pubescent, the calyx or 

 hull strongly refiexed from the fruit: berry dull red, 

 musky. Eu. — Cult, forms rarely seen in Amer. 



aa. Duchesnea. RereptacJe less fleshy , tasteless: hahit 

 trailing: fls. yelloiv. 



Indica, Andr. Neat trailina: plant with small obovate 

 crenate-dentate leaflets, solitary long-pedicelled tis., 

 and calyx bracts toothed. India. Naturalized E. — Very 

 useful as a basket trailer. j^ jj_ }> 



FRAGRANT BALM. Jfonarda didyma. 



