Mock strawberry

Mock Strawberry ( Potentilla indica)

The Indian Mock Strawberry or Mock Strawberry ( Potentilla indica) is a native of Southeast Asia plant, which is drawn in Central Europe as an ornamental plant and sometimes wild. It was a long run as Duchesnea indica, the genus Duchesnea however, was integrated in the genus Potentilla. Other German names are wrong or Indian strawberry strawberry. All German names refer to the similarity of the fruit with a strawberry.

Description

The Mock Strawberry is a perennial, herbaceous plant that reaches the stature heights of 10 to 30 cm. It forms streamer -like, to 50 cm long, fine roots at the nodes stems. The leaves are arranged in rosettes at the Bewurzelungsstelle, otherwise alternate. They have a 12 ( to 15 ) cm long petiole. The leaflets are stalked 1-3 cm long, hairy on both sides. The base of the leaf is entire, and wedge-shaped, the terminal leaflet is rhombic to obovate and has serrations. The lateral leaflets are wrong ovate, leaf margin crenate to incised - crenate. The stipules are in the rosette leaves about 10 mm long, fused to the half with the petiole, where the free part is narrow triangular. The Kriechsprossen the stipules are kerbzähnig.

The flowers have an outer cup and have a diameter of 15 to 20 mm. They are apparently individually in leaf axils on a 2-8 cm long stem, the leaves so do not protrude. The outer sepals are to flower 3-5 mm long, for fruit ripening to 10 mm. The sepals are narrowly triangular, 4-6 mm long, after flowering also longer. The petals are yellow and 6-8 mm long. There are 15 to 20 stamens. The fruit is a globular false fruit, enclosed in an immature state of calyx and outer calyx, which spread to fruit ripening and release the fruit. This is similar to the strawberry, is bright red and edible - but has little taste.

The chromosome number is 2n = 84

Dissemination and locations

The Mock Strawberry is native to South and Southeast Asia and is found in China, Afghanistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan and Korea. Here it grows on mountainsides, in meadows, river banks, field margins and wet locations up to 3100 m altitude.

In Central Europe it was introduced as an ornamental plant since the mid-19th century and is at times wild. In Austria it has run wild since 1918, is naturalized around since 1990 and is considered to be potentially invasive. In Central Europe it is scattered in fresh hedges, on artificial turf in urban courtyards, gardens and forest edges.

In North America, Mock Strawberry in most states is also wild.

Documents

• Siegmund Seybold (ed.): Schmeil Fitschen - interactive ( CD -Rom ), Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2001/2002, ISBN 3-494-01327-6