Fragaria chiloensis (L.) Mill.
coastal strawberry (beach strawberry; Pacific coast strawberry)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
coastal strawberry (beach strawberry; Pacific coast strawberry)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a fibrous root and short, thick rhizome, with short, leafless runners; stems trailing, rooting at the nodes; runners, leaf stalks and flower shoots silky-long-hairy and reddish.
Leaves:
Basal in rosettes, palmately compound, on stalks 4-20 cm long; leaflets 3, egg-shaped, short-stalked, 1.5-4 cm long, thick, leathery, the lower surface strongly net-veined, pale and somewhat hairy, the upper surface green, smooth and wrinkled, the margins coarsely toothed with the terminal tooth shorter than its neighbours.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an open cluster of 5 to 15 (20) stalked flowers atop axillary, leafless shoots 3-15 cm long, shorter than to slightly exceeding the leaves; corollas white, 2-4 cm across, the petals 5, egg-shaped to round, 8-16 mm long; calyces silky-hairy, 5-lobed, the lobes (sepals) lanceolate, 6-10 mm long, alternating with elliptic bractlets that are almost as long as the sepals; ovaries superior; stamens about 20.
Fruits:
Strawberries, hemispheric, 1-1.5 cm in diameter, hairy, covered with achenes; achenes about 2 mm long, slightly immersed in the fleshy receptacle.
Notes:
The garden strawberry, Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne (a complex group of hybrids involving F. chiloensis and F. virginiana) is sometimes found as a garden escape in SW BC. Plants intermediate to F. chiloensis or F. virginiana have been called F. crinita Rydb. Two sympatric subspecies occur in BC:
1. Hairs on stems and leaf-stalks appressed.............. ssp. lucida (Vilm.) Staudt
1. Hairs on stems and leaf-stalks spreading.................... ssp. pacifica Staudt
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Early Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Red
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Fragaria chiloensis
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
424 | 0 | 1950 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
14 | 0 | 65 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
231 | 81 | 335 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 4 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
A | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
22 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CWH(16), ESSF(2), ICH(1), IDF(1), MS(1), SBS(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry to mesic sand dunes and rocky coastal bluffs, just above high tide, in the lowland zone; frequent in coastal BC; N to AK and S to CA; disjunct to South America.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Fragaria ×ananassa var. ananassa
Fragaria ×magna auct. non Thuill. p.p.
Fragaria chiloensis var. ananassa Weston
Taxonomic Keys
1. Leaves thick, strongly veined beneath, wrinkled above; plants strictly maritime..............F. chiloensis
1. Leaves thin, not strongly veined beneath, not wrinkled above; plants generally distributed 2. Terminal tooth of leaflets usually surpassing the adjacent lateral ones; leaflets generally unstalked; fruiting shoots longer than the leaves................F. vesca 2. Terminal tooth of leaflets usually much narrower and shorter than adjacent lateral ones; leaflets short-stalked; fruiting shoots shorter than the leaves..............F. virginiana Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |