8 Bb-6

Strawberries

There are 23 different species of strawberry.

One, the woodland strawberry (Fragaria
vesca), grows naturally in the UK. It has small,
rounded fruits and only grows in shady areas,
such as at the edge of woods. The fruits are
known to have been eaten by Stone Age
peoples. The plants have small flowers with
white petals and yellow central parts.

Most of the strawberries that we eat today are ‘garden strawberries’, which grow best in full
sunshine and in soils that have no salt (e.g. from the sea) in them. They produce very large, bright
red fruits that we enjoy eating in the summer. Garden strawberries were bred in the 1750s, in
France. A strawberry plant from eastern North America (Fragaria virginiana) was bred with a
strawberry from Chile (Fragaria chiloensis). Fragaria virginiana has small bright red fruits and
grows in shady areas where there is no salt in the soil. Fragaria chiloensis, on the other hand, has
very large fruits that are a dull red colour. The plants grow best in full sunshine and can cope with
salt in the soil, and so are often found growing along beaches, giving it the common name of
‘beach strawberry’. Breeders have continued breeding F. virginiana with F. chiloensis to look for
offspring that are less likely to get certain diseases but still have the same fruit characteristics.
Strawberry plants don’t always need plant breeders to create new types. Scientists have found
some strawberry plants growing along beaches in California, which are all from a one-off breeding
between Fragaria vesca and Fragaria chiloensis. This type of strawberry (referred to as F. vesca X
F. chiloensis) grows successfully alongside both its parent plants, although it is infertile.
What does sexual reproduction need that asexual reproduction does not? State one thing.
Describe briefly how strawberry plants reproduce.
a Garden strawberries are hybrids. Explain what this means.
b Suggest how the scientific name for garden strawberries would be written.
a What characteristics have garden strawberries inherited from each of their parents?
b When the plant breeder was experimenting with breeding strawberries to produce ‘garden
strawberries’, he bred Fragaria virginiana and Fragaria chiloensis together and planted the
strawberries that were produced. Not all the plants that grew had the same characteristics
as what we know as ‘garden strawberries’. Explain why not.
a List three types of strawberries you would expect to find along a beach in California.
b One of those types is infertile. Explain what this means.
c Explain how this plant can survive and reproduce in this area.
d A strawberry plant disease hits the area. All the strawberry plants of one type are killed.
Which of the types of strawberry plant is this most likely to happen to? Explain your
reasoning.
e State two advantages of asexual reproduction over sexual reproduction.

I can…
● explain the different outcomes of sexual and asexual reproduction in plants

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 8 Bb-6
Strawberries

● consider the advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual reproduction.

© Pearson Education Ltd 2014. Copying permitted for

purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. 17