Fragaria x vescana  :

This hybrid species was obtained artificially between the garden strawberry (Fragaria xananassa) and the wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca).  

This crossing cannot take place naturally since Fragaria × ananassa has eight sets of chromosomes while Fragaria vesca only has two. This results in sterile offspring.

The polyploidization of Fragaria vesca with colchicine makes it possible to obtain tetraploid mutants, providing with Fragaria × ananassa, decaploid, fertile and vigorous offspring.

The fruits are more aromatic than those of cultivated strawberries and larger than those of wild strawberries. Their pulp has an excellent taste with a strong aroma; the wild strawberry aroma is clearly recognizable.

Its flesh has a much softer texture than that of commercial garden strawberry varieties; As a result, the fruits do not have good storage and transportation properties and therefore have not acquired any commercial importance.

Fragaria x vescana is however particularly suitable for private gardens:  

The plants are very stoloniferous and are vigorous ground covers.  

They are not very susceptible to diseases and are much more resistant to low temperatures than F. × ananassa.

And their fruits, as in their relative F. vesca, grow on robust and erect clusters, which protrude from the plants; thus limiting their predation by gastropods, insects, and attacks by   Botrytis, without having to resort to mulching.

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'Florika': (syn. Dr Bauer's® Florika Upholstery Strawberry)

This cultivar, initially called “Florina”, comes from a German research program.

Dr. Rudolf Bauer, leading the research program, whose death in 1983 preceded the registration of the cultivar in 1989.

'Florika', was obtained by crossing the garden strawberry 'Sparkle' (8x) with a tetraploid accession of Fragaria vesca var. semperflorens (4x).  

The cross product (6x) was crossed with the garden strawberry 'Hummi' (8x).  

'Florika' was selected from this cross.

It turns out to be decaploid (10x), meaning that it comes from a non-reduced egg cell.

Accession acquired by Joran's Seeds and Research, in 2020, in the form of plants, from the French nursery Baumaux.

'Florika' is a non-everbearing variety, which therefore produces fruit every year in June/July. The bright red, cone-shaped fruits measure 1.5 to 4 cm in diameter and are therefore considerably larger than wild strawberries, but smaller than most contemporary garden strawberries. The fruits grow on erect, robust clusters which protrude from the plants, thus limiting their predation by gastropods, insects, and attack by Botrytis, without having to resort to mulching.