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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » National Clonal Germplasm Repository » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #225426
Title: Strawberry Species of Iturup and Sakhalin Islands

Author
item Hummer, Kim
item SABITOV, ANDREY - VIR FEES RUSSIA

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/3/2008
Publication Date: 8/1/2008
Citation: Hummer, K.E., Sabitov, A. 2008. Strawberry Species of Iturup and Sakhalin Islands. HortScience. 43(5)2008:1623-1625.

Interpretive Summary: A plant collecting expedition to Iturup (known in Japan as Etorofu) and Sakhalin Islands, Sakhalin Territory, Russian Federation, occurred between 21 July and 12 September 2003. Strawberries were observed and collected. Japanese and Russian flora have described two species as native to those islands. In addition, a recent monograph described a new species, the Iturup strawberry from a Japanese herbarium specimen collected on Atsunupuri volcano near Lesozovodoskyi, Iturup, in 1929. The objectives of the 2003 collecting trip were to obtain wild strawberries from these islands and determine if a population of the Iturup strawberry still existed on the volcano. One native strawberry species was obtained from the Ogonki Village, Anivskyi Region, Southern Sakhalin Island, but this species was not observed on Iturup. The other, the Yezoensis strawberry, was observed at Cape Otlivnoy, Iturup. Two small colonies of the native Iturup strawberry were collected from mid-elevations on the east-facing slope of Atsunupuri Volcano, Iturup. The native distribution of this strawberry was limited to this volcanic mountain habitat and was not found in the foggy, sandy locations of coastal Iturup. The leaves and growth habit of the Iturup strawberry were similar to that of the Virginian strawberry, a native of North America. The fruit of the Iturup strawberry was different, however. During the collecting trip, probable cultivated escapes were observed at two sites on the eastern coast of Iturup and at one site on Southern Sakhalin. Populations of these strawberries were observed from the Shumi-Gorodok Village to the Khvoynaya River, and near Goriachie Kluchi Village on Iturup, and from the outskirts of Ujno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Island. The 2003 expedition confirmed the existence of the Iturup strawberry, the only known native Asian strawberry species with the high number of chromosomes equivalent to that of North American strawberry species. Limited quantities of plant materila from the collecting trip are available for research from the curator (first author), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis, Oregon, the US national strawberry genebank.

Technical Abstract: A plant collecting expedition to Iturup (known in Japan as Etorofu) and Sakhalin Islands, Sakhalin Territory, Russian Federation, occurred between 21 July and 12 September 2003. Strawberries, Fragaria L., were observed and collected. Japanese and Russian flora have described two diploid (2n = 2x = 14) species, F. iinumae Makino and the Yezoensis strawberry, F. nipponica Makino [syn. = Fragaria nipponica var. yezoensis (H. Hara) Kitam.] as native to those islands. In addition, a recent monograph described a new octoploid (2n = 8x = 56) strawberry species, F. iturupensis Staudt, from a Japanese herbarium specimen collected on Atsunupuri volcano near Lesozovodoskyi, Iturup, in 1929. The objectives of the 2003 collecting trip were to obtain wild strawberries from these islands and determine if a population of F. iturupensis still existed on the volcano. The native F. iinumae Makino was obtained from the Ogonki Village, Anivskyi Region, Southern Sakhalin Island, but was not observed on Iturup. The other diploid, the Yezoensis strawberry, was observed at Cape Otlivnoy, Iturup with fruit 0.4 g/berry (15 km south of Shumi-Gorodok). Two small colonies of the native octoploid F. iturupensis Staudt were collected from mid-elevations on the east-facing slope of Atsunupuri Volcano, Iturup. The native distribution of F. iturupensis was limited to this volcanic montane habitat and was not found in the foggy, sandy locations of coastal elevations on Iturup. The leaf morphology and growth habit of F. iturupensis plants were similar to that of F. virginiana subsp. glauca (S. Watson) Staudt of North America, but the fruit was different. During the collecting trip, probable cultivated escapes were observed at two sites on the eastern coast of Iturup and at one site on Southern Sakhalin. Populations of these octoploid strawberries were observed over several km from the Shumi-Gorodok Village to the Khvoynaya River, and near Goriachie Kluchi Village on Iturup, and from the outskirts of Ujno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Island. The 2003 expedition confirmed the existence of F. iturupensis, the only known native Asian octoploid strawberry on Atsunupuri. Limited quantities of germplasm from the collecting trip are available for research from the curator (first author), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis, Oregon, the US national strawberry genebank.