Strawberry - Classification
There are more than 20 Fragaria species worldwide. Key to the classification of strawberry species is recognizing that they vary in the number of chromosomes. There are seven basic types of chromosomes that they all have in common. However, they exhibit different polyploidy. Some species are diploid, having two sets of the seven chromosomes (14 chromosomes total). Others are tetraploid (four sets, 28 chromosomes total), hexaploid (six sets, 42 chromosomes total), octoploid (eight sets, 56 chromosomes total), or decaploid (ten sets, 70 chromosomes total).
As a rough rule (with exceptions), strawberry species with more chromosomes tend to be more robust and produce larger plants with larger berries (Darrow).
Diploid species
- Fragaria daltoniana
- Fragaria iinumae
- Fragaria nilgerrensis
- Fragaria nipponica
- Fragaria nubicola
- Fragaria vesca (Woodland Strawberry)
- Fragaria viridis
- Fragaria yezoensis
Tetraploid species
- Fragaria moupinensis
- Fragaria orientalis
Hexaploid species
- Fragaria moschata (Musk Strawberry)
Octoploid species and hybrids
- Fragaria x ananassa (Garden Strawberry)
- Fragaria chiloensis (Beach Strawberry)
- Fragaria iturupensis (Iturup Strawberry)
- Fragaria virginiana (Virginia Strawberry)
Decaploid species and hybrids
- Fragaria × Potentilla hybrids
- Fragaria × vescana
Numerous other species have been proposed. Some are now recognized as subspecies of one of the above species (see GRIN taxonomy database).
The Mock Strawberry and Barren Strawberry, which both bear resemblance to Fragaria, are only distantly related species in the genus Potentilla.
