Musk strawberry

Musk strawberry
FragariaMoschata.JPG
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Rosoideae
Genus: Fragaria
Species: F. moschata

Binomial name
Fragaria moschata
Duchesne

The musk strawberry (Fragaria moschata), is a species of strawberry native to Europe. Its French name hautbois strawberry is anglicised as hautboy strawberry.

Musk strawberries grow wild to a limited extent in the forests of Central Europe, north into Scandinavia, and east into Russia. It was the first strawberry of any sort with a cultivar name, which was Le Chapiron (1576).[1] By 1591, the cultivar was called Chapiton, then later Capiton. It was mentioned by Quintinye, gardener to Louis XIV, as Capron in 1672.[1]

It is used in the gourmet community for its intense aroma and superb flavour, which has been compared to a mixture of regular strawberry, raspberry and pineapple.[1] The berries are small and round. They are hardy plants that can survive in many weather conditions and are cultivated commercially on a small scale, particularly in Italy. Popular cultivated varieties include Capron and Profumata di Tortona.

Polyploidy

All strawberries have a base haploid count of 7 chromosomes. Fragaria moschata is hexaploid, having six pairs of these chromosomes for a total of 42 chromosomes.

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Reich, Lee (2004). Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden. Timber Press. pp. p. 34-35. ISBN 088192623X. 

External links

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