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Fragaria or Potentilla?

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Lovers of summertime fruit know to ask for strawberries by name, but what's in a name?

The genus Fragaria comprises the strawberries, but the common name also describes its characteristic fruit. The strawberry is an accessory fruit, composed of tiny separate achenes (single seeded, dry, indehiscent fruits) embedded in a succulent, edible flesh, which is derived from the conical tissue at the base of the flower - the receptacle. The closely-related Potentilla (cinquefoil) has achenes loosely attached atop a dry or spongy receptacle. Traditionally differentiated, recent molecular studies on the evolution of the Rosaceae suggest that the differences are not significant and Fragaria should now be merged with Potentilla.

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