Hobbies And Interests
Wood Strawberries
There are about a dozen species of strawberries from the genus Fragaria of the Rose Family. The common wood strawberry, Fragaria vesca, has the widest range of all strawberries. It lives in forested areas all over Europe. The wild wood strawberry was first cultivated in Europe during the early 1600s. The plants grow upright, with thin, light-green sharply serrated leaves and silky hairs on the underside veins. The small white flowers grow on tall stalks.
Green Strawberries
The green strawberry is known as F. viridis and is native to most of the European continent. It can be found growing in grassy fields, steppes and along the edges of woods. The deep green leaves have silky undersides and small, curved teeth on the leaf edges. The large yellow-green flowers appear in spring and fall. Fruits of the green strawberry are whitish-green to green, with more red color when grown in full sun.
Musk Strawberries
The musk strawberry, or F. moschata, is also called the Capron, Capiton or Hautbois strawberry. It usually grows in shady forests, under brush and in tall-grass meadows. Musk strawberries grow wild in Scandanavia, coastal Atlantic countries and in eastern regions as far as Russian Siberia. The vigorous-growing plants have very hairy leaves and produce large fruits colored light red, dark brown or purplish to greenish red. The aromatic musk strawberries have the strongest smell of all strawberries.
Other Strawberries
Chilean strawberries, F. chiloensis, were imported from Chile into France in 1714. The species is grown for its large fruit and tolerance to high altitudes, drought and cold temperatures. Virginia strawberries, F. virginiana, were introduced to Europe in the 1620s by American colonists. The modern garden strawberry, called F. ananassa, is a hybrid plant developed in Europe by crossing the Chilean with the Virginia strawberry. With its large, superior tasting fruit, the garden strawberry has become the standard of the industry.