Fragaria virginiana : Wild Strawberry

Scientific Name:

Kingdom: Plantae

Division:

• Tracheophyta (vascular)
• Spermatophyta (seed bearing)
Angiospermae (enclosed seed)

Class: Dicoteldonae (two seed-leaves)

Family: Rosaceae (Rose Family)

Genera: Fragaria (Strawberry) (Lat. fraga=ancient name for strawberry from Lat. fragrans=fragrant; referring to the fruits smell)

Species: virginiana (virginiana= of Virginia)

English Name(s):

Wild Strawberry, Common / Virginia / Field / Strawberry

First Nation Names:

Structure:

• Arising from short, thick, scaly, rhizomes (underground stems).
• With long, slender, rooting at the nodes, stolons (rooting branches).

Leaves:

• Ternate (with 3 leaflets).
• All basal (from the base), and with long petioles (stalks).
• Leaflets rounded to cuneate, obovate in shape.
• Margins coarsely serrate (toothed).
• Petioles 2-17cm long; Leaves 1.5-9cm long.
• Underside silky-pubescent (hairy); Glaucous (blueish waxy) above.

Reproductive Parts:

• Stamens (male parts) about 20.
• Flowers in a few flowered cyme on a slender scape (stalk) shorter than leaves.
• Sepals 5, 4-6mm long, alternating with bractlets; Petals 5, 6-8mm long, showy, white.

Seed:

• Fruit are seed-like achenes, 1-1.5mm long, numerous, and shallowly embeded on the surface of the receptacle.
• When the flowers go to seed, the receptacle enlarges greatly becomeing fleashy and red. Becoming the "Strawberry". Up to 1.5cm in diameter.

Not to Be Confused With:

Physiology:

• The "berries" of this plant are not really berries at all. They are the swollen fleashy center of the flower. The fruit of the plant are the tiny seeds embedded on the surface of the so called " berry".
• These plants reproduce mainly vegitatively by stolons (rooting branches).

Life Cycle:

• Perennial.

Seasonal Cycle:

• Flowers bloom in May.
• Fruit ripe in early-July. Our earliest berries.

Animal Uses:

• The fruits are eaten by many birds and small mammals who in turn help distribute the seeds.

Habitat:

• Dry to moist, clearings in woods, meadows, open slopes, and disturbed sites.
• Likes sunny locations.

Modern:

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Traditional Gwich'in:

Folklore:

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Traditional Other:

Folklore:

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