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This berry has shot up in our strawberry patch - not sure what it is

Anyone have any ideas

Cheers Chris

enter image description here

Chris Ford
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3 Answers3

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I think it is Duchesnea indica, also known as Potentilla indica, very invasive. It propagates itself by stolons, so try to take the whole roots out if you don't intend to use the chemical approach.

Alina
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It's a bit confusing - the fruit and leaves strongly suggest Duchesnea indica, but that plant has yellow flowers, and I'm seeing white flowers in the picture. On close inspection, there seem to be at least two stems with thorns - if the white flowers are appearing on those, then you likely have another invader mixed in there, possibly a blackberry. If the white flowers go on to produce similar red fruits to that already present, the plant may actually be a wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana).

Ken Graham
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Bamboo
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  • Eagle for spotting the stems with thorns, although they are not in great focus and the leaves seem to be very consistent across the photo, so not convinced *Rubus* is in there, and the fruit definitely isn't *Rubus*. It's a bit out of focus down there. I am pretty certain that the fruit is *Duchesnea*. OP should taste it - *Fragaria* will taste a lot better than *Duchesnea* which will be pretty nothing-ish (some say watermelon, which I kind of get, but not worth eating really). – George of all trades Feb 10 '17 at 23:16
  • @Georgeofalltrades whatever those thorny stems belong to, they're neither Fragaria nor Duchesna... likeliest explanation is Duchesna with a random blackberry or raspberry or something with white flowers starting to grow too... – Bamboo Feb 10 '17 at 23:21
  • @bamboo Took a closer look today those white flowers have turned into more of the similar red berries . Would this mean its Fragaria virginiana – Chris Ford Feb 12 '17 at 11:43
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    The photograph seems to be the same one posted earlier so still not sure, but I don't really think it is Fragaria either... have you another photo you forgot to post, showing more progress with the forming berries? And are all the stems thorny on this plant, because I can't tell that either? Also, can you pull off the ripe fruit at the top - how it comes off the stem will indicate if its raspberry or strawberry – Bamboo Feb 12 '17 at 14:36
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Given that Duchesnea indica rarely ever grows above 6", I think it is completely safe to assume that is not it. Not to mention, I don't see a single leaf that would make me think it is D. indica. The only plant I see in this picture is Rubus spp. The white flower, the thorny stem, the intact sepals all are just screaming raspberry. Even the beautiful ripe raspberry is screaming raspberry. It's a raspberry. =]

Tyler K.
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