Leaflets variable but all stalked, more or less hairless above but with closely pressed hair below. Flowers mostly bisexual, 2-3.5 cm wide; spring to summer. Calyx lobes flattened to the new fruits but later curled back. Fruit receptacle swollen and variable but generally deep red when mature, with the achenes in sunken pits on the surface.
This is the commonly cultivated strawberry, extremely variable and with numerous cultivars.
Garden origin.
Wild strawberries have been eaten since time immemorial but the modern large table strawberry, a hybrid, F. chiloensis × F. virginiana, was first bred about 250 years ago in France with further breeding carried out about 100 years later in England and more recently in the USA, particularly California. In Australia strawberries are grown commercially on a small scale in all states, giving the capacity for year-round supply. Older cultivars have been replaced by cultivars from California that are grown under license.They are termed Short Day or Day Neutral depending on the conditions they require to flower and bear fruit. Currently listed cultivars include: 'Anaheim', 'Camarosa', 'Cambridge Rival', 'Carlsbad',A'Chandler' PVJ 6(2)4, 'Cuesta', 'Dorit', 'Earlisweet', 'Elvira', A 'Fern' PVJ 6(2)4, 'Hedley', 'Laguna', 'Ofra', 'Pajero', 'Pandora', A 'Parker' PVJ 6(2)4, 'Pink Panda', 'Rabunda', 'Red Gauntlet', 'Redlands Delight', A 'Redlands Hope' PVJ 8(4)50, A 'Redlands Horizon', A 'Redlands Joy' PVJ 8(4)50, 'Redlands Pinnacle', 'Redlands Rose', 'Redlands Surprise', 'Saaid', A 'Santana' PVJ 6(2)4, A 'Selva' PVJ 6(2)4, 'Shalom', 'Smadar', 'Sunset', 'Sweetheart', 'Temptation', 'Tioga'. The following are possibly of different parentage: A 'Capitola' PVJ 10(3)55, 'Chioga', 'Irvine', 'Mrak', 'Muir', A 'Oso Grande' PVJ 10(3)55, A 'Seascape' PVJ 10(3)55, 'Sequel', 'Tustin', 'Yolo'.
Source: (2002). Rosaceae. In: . 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.
