Fragaria vesca

Woodland Strawberry
	File:Fragaria vesca(fiore-foglia-frutto).jpeg;
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae;
Division:	Magnoliophyta;
Class:	Magnoliopsida;
Order:	Rosales;
Family:	Rosaceae;
Subfamily:	Rosoideae;
Genus:	Fragaria;
Species:	F. vesca;
Binomial name
	Fragaria vesca; Coville

Fragaria vesca, commonly known as Woodland Strawberry occurs naturally throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Other names for this species include the Wild Strawberry, Alpine Strawberry and European Strawberry.

All strawberry species have a base haploid count of seven chromosomes; Fragaria vesca is diploid, having two pairs of these chromosomes for a total of 14.

Cultivation and uses

File:Wild strawberries on straw.jpg

F. vesca from Sweden, threaded on a straw. The plant behind is not a strawberry plant.

The Woodland Strawberry was widely cultivated in Europe before being largely replaced by the Garden Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa and other hybrids), which have much larger berries. Woodland Strawberry fruit is strongly flavored, and is still grown on a small scale commercially for the use of gourmets.

Unlike most commercial and garden cultivars of strawberries, Woodland Strawberries rarely form runners, and are usually propagated by seeds or division of the plants.

Some cultivars of F. vesca have berries that are green, white, or yellow when fully ripe, in addition to the normal red.

F. vesca is sometimes used as an herbal medicine; an herbal tea made from the leaves, stems, and flowers is believed to aid in the treatment of diarrhea.