Fragaria x ananassa (Duchesne) Guédès
Family
Rosaceae
Synonyms
Fragaria ananassa Duchesne or Fragaria vesca L. race ananassa Duchesne, Fragaria chiloensis (L.) P. Miller x Fragaria virginiana P. Miller.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Strawberry. |
| English | Strawberry, dessert strawberry, garden strawberry. |
| Indonesia | Arbèn. |
| Philippines | Fresa. |
| Thailand | Stroboeri. |
| Vietnam | Dâu tây. |
| French | Fraise, fraisier ananas. |
Geographical Distributions
Fragaria x ananassa is derived from natural crosses between the American octoploids F. chiloensis and F. virginiana in Europe around 1750. Modern cultivars are derived from further crossing and selection among the hybrids and sometimes backcrossing with F. chiloensis. The cultivated F. x ananassa is grown extensively in most temperate and some subtropical countries. In the tropics, they are grown in the highlands. In northern Thailand, they are grown commercially by many growers on a small scale. A few larger producers are found in the Dieng Plateau in Java and near Berastagi in Sumatra. Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the fruit is grown and marketed more incidentally.
Description
F. x ananassa is a perennial herb with a short stem, rosette of leaves and runners. The leaves are trifoliolate. The soft hairy petiole is 1.5-17 cm long. The leaflets are 1.8-7 cm x 1.3-6 cm, with short petiolules or almost sessile, serrate at the margins and glaucous at the lower surface.
The inflorescences are erect, measure up to 26 cm long and up to 16 flowers in a dichasium. The peduncle is 0-14 cm long while the pedicels measure up to 9 cm long. The flowers are functionally unisexual or bisexual and with 5-6-merous. The floral cup is 4-6 mm in diametre. The epicalyx leaves are 5-8 mm x 2.5-3.5 mm. The sepals are 7-12 mm x 3-4.5 mm. The petals are sub-orbicular, measure 9-12 mm wide, with short clawed and white. There are 25-37 stamens that sterile in the female flowers. The disk is thickened and with 5-6-lobed ring. There are many pistils while in the male flowers, the ovaries are not developed.
The pseudocarps (false fruits) are spherical, obovoid or ovoid and measuring up to 4.5 cm x 5.5 cm. The achenes (true fruits) are sunken in the swollen torus, measuring 1.25-1.5 mm x 1-1.25 mm and smooth.
Ecology / Cultivation
F. x ananassa thrives in mild climates, without extremes of temperature and humidity. Desiccating conditions are not tolerated. Hence, the importance of windbreaks, mulching and irrigation are to limit stress. The resting plants survive at -15 to -20°C, but flowers and young fruits are blackened at -1 to -3°C. At high latitudes, the season is extended by growing F. x ananassa in glasshouses or in polythene tunnels. Short day length is needed for the initiation of flowers and a cold-induced rest period stimulates runner formation after growth resumes. Flowering and fruiting demand a fairly dry season; wet conditions interfere with pollination and control of fungi. In the tropics, cultivation is successful at elevations above 1000 m. F. x ananassa requires a well-drained soil with a good waterholding capacity in the topsoil; in waterlogged conditions, the soil fungi kills the plants.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 2: Edible fruits and nuts.
