Classical Latin name for the strawberry based on fragrans — fragrant, referring to the pleasant aroma of the fruit.

Perennial stoloniferous herbs. Leaves basal, with 3 leaflets. Epicalyx usually present. Flowers in flattopped clusters, rarely solitary. Petals mostly 5, white, or sometimes pinkish. Stamens numerous. Carpels numerous, the receptacle fleshy and eventually brightly coloured, with the achenes in small pits on the surface of the fruit.

Apart from the commercial strawberry, F. ×ananassa, the only other species likely to be encountered is F. vesca L., Alpine Strawberry, from Europe and E North America, generally cultivated as f. semperflorens (Duchesne) Staudt, which bears flowers and fruits for most of the year. ['Semperflorens', 'Alpine'].

12-15 species from S America, northern temperate and subtropical areas.

Seed; the cultivars by division or from stolons.

Strawberry fruits.

Staudt (1962), Darrow (1966).

Source: Spencer, R. (2002). Rosaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.