Musk strawberry

Musk strawberry
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
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^{[by whom?]}.

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]

Leaves

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.

See also

• Alpine strawberry
• Garden Strawberry

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Reich, Lee (2004). Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden. Timber Press. pp. 34–35. ISBN 088192623X. 

External links

• F. moschata information from GRIN Taxonomy Database
• F. moschata information from Ibiblio's Plants for a Future database
• Den Virtuella Floran Swedish site with good photos of F. moschata.
• Smithsonian Magazine Article on F. moschata