Fragaria moschata Seeds | Musk Strawberry
LATIN NAME: Fragaria moschata
COMMON NAME: Musk Strawberry, Hautbois Strawberry
Plant Profile
The musk strawberry is the hautbois of old European gardens, a tall, shade-tolerant plant with small fruit that tastes of wine and musk. It is native to central and southern Europe, from France and Germany east to Poland and the Balkans and south to Italy, growing in woodland clearings, hedgerows and damp meadows on heavy soils. The plant is larger and coarser than the wild strawberry, reaching 30 to 40 cm, with broad trifoliate leaves, few runners and a stiff, upright habit. The flowers are white and, unusually for a strawberry, the plants are mostly single-sexed: some carry only male flowers, others only female, and a few carry both. The fruit is small, dark red and soft, with a musky, vinous flavour that was prized in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the hautbois was grown in French and English gardens. It was displaced by the larger garden strawberry and is now a curiosity.
Science & Biotechnology
Fragaria moschata is a hexaploid with 42 chromosomes, and it sits between the diploid wild strawberries and the octoploid garden strawberry in the complicated polyploid series that makes the genus so interesting to geneticists. Its most unusual feature is its breeding system: the species is subdioecious, with separate male and female plants and a few hermaphrodites, so fruit set depends on a pollinator carrying pollen from a male plant to a female one. That is why old accounts describe planting the hautbois in groups rather than rows. The musky aroma comes from a different blend of volatile compounds from that of F. vesca, dominated by esters and lactones rather than by the furanones that give the garden strawberry its sweetness. The species is adapted to heavier, wetter soils than other wild strawberries, and it tolerates more shade, which is why it was grown in orchard grass and along walls.
Uses & Benefits
The fruit is eaten fresh and is used for jam, syrup and liqueur, where its musky flavour is the whole point; it is too soft and too small to ship. In the seventeenth century it was the strawberry of the French court, and it is still grown by enthusiasts in France and Germany, where old selections are passed between gardeners. The plant is useful in a shady orchard or under trees, where other strawberries produce little, and its upright habit keeps the fruit off the ground. The leaves are used for tea, and the root has a place in European folk medicine. It is also a plant for breeding, since its aroma and its tolerance of heavy soil are both worth having. It has no commercial significance now, and named clones are hard to find outside specialist nurseries.
Growing from Seed
Sow seed in late winter on the surface of a moist compost, after four weeks of cold stratification, and keep at 18 degrees; germination is slow and uneven. Prick out the seedlings and grow them on in a shaded frame, since they are small in their first year. Plant out in autumn, 35 cm apart, in soil that holds moisture and in light shade; the species dislikes hot, dry ground. Plant at least three, since the sexes are separate and you need a male among the females. Spread leafmould around the crowns and water when the soil begins to crack. Cut off the few runners that form if you want the plants to concentrate on fruit. The plants are long-lived for a strawberry and can be left in place for four or five years before they need replacing.
Our Take
The old hautbois, with small fruit that tastes of wine and musk and a need for a male plant nearby. Grow it in shade and heavy soil.
Related Reading
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