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Rosaceae FAMILY

Fragaria chiloensis

Fragaria chiloensis

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Prefers a fertile, well-drained, moisture retentive soil in a sunny position[1, 2]. Tolerates semi-shade though fruit production will be reduced. Grows best near the coast[1]. The beach strawberry has a large, disjunct range, being found in southern S. America, western N. America and Hawaii. Several subspecies and forms are recognized botanically, though differences are based on vegetative characteristics not on fruit. Therefore we do not have seperate records for each form. The different forms recognized are:- Fragaria chiloensis subsp. chiloensis forma chiloensis is found in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador. Fragaria chiloensis subsp. chiloensis forma patagonica Staudt is found in southern Argentina and southern Chile Fragaria chiloensis subsp. sandwicensis (Decne.) Staudt is found in Hawaii Fragaria chiloensis subsp. lucida (E. Vilm. ex Gay) Staudt is found in western N. America from California to British Colombia Fragaria chiloensis subsp. pacifica Staudt is found in western N. America from California to Alaska. This species, along with Fragaria virginiana, is probably a parent of the cultivated strawberries[3]. Cultivated for its edible fruit in the Andes[4]. Plants respond well to a mulch of pine or spruce leaves[5]. During the growing season new plants are produced on runners - prostrate stems emerging from the leaf axils of mature plants. These runners are used as propagation material[6]. Some plants have hermaphrodite flowers whilst others are dioecious - in which case both male and female forms would need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[7].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. The seed can take 4 weeks or more to germinate. The seedlings are very small and slow-growing at first, but then grow rapidly. Prick them out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out during the summer. Division of runners, preferably done in mid summer in order to allow the plants to become established for the following years crop[2]. They can also be moved in the following spring if required, though should not then be allowed to fruit in their first year. The runners can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Fragaria+chiloensis>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]The Vegetable Garden. — Vilmorin. A. · Ten Speed Press · ISBN 0-89815-041-8 ↩︎A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  4. [4]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  5. [5]Companion Plants. — Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. · Watkins · 1979 · ISBN - ↩︎Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.
  6. [6]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  7. [7]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  8. [8]A California Flora. — Munz P.A. & Keck D.D. · University of California Press; Los Angeles · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [9]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  10. [10]Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. — Turner. N. J. and Szczawinski. A. · National Museum of Natural Sciences · 1978 · ISBN - ↩︎A very readable guide to some wild foods of Canada.
  11. [11]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  12. [12]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [13]Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest. — Schofield. J. J. · Alaska Northwest Books; Alaska · 2003 · ISBN 0882403699 ↩︎A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
  14. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎