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Common Name: Wild Strawberry
Scientific Name: Fragaria virginiana
Family: Rosaceae
Serendipity Ranch
Columbus, North Carolina
June 1, 2002
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A low, native perennial often forming large colonies by means of stolons or "runners". The leaf is made up of 3 obovate, dentate leaflets each usually 1 - 2 inches long. The sweet, fleshy, red fruits are often more flavorsome than the related, but larger, cultivated strawberries. A frequent to common plant of old fields and woodland borders throughout the state of much of the eastern U.S. March - June [Justice, William S. and Bell, C. Ritchie, Wild Flowers of North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1968]
This low-growing plant with its small white flowers might get over-looked in spring, but it is highly sought after in summer when its berries are ripe. The "berry" is a fleshy enlargement of the receptacle. The tiny "seeds" are the real fruit, known as achenes. Wild strawberry reproduces by runners from its stems as well as from seed. Wild strawberry is often confused with cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.) because of the similar flowers and habitat. An examination of the leaves will prove definitive. Cinquefoil leaves are divided into five leaflets (as the name "cinque" implies), while strawberry leaves have only three leaflets. Wild strawberry leaves are edible if brewed into a tea and are said to be a good source of vitamin C. [White, Peter, Wildflowers of the Smokies. Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Gatlinburg, 1996]
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Alphabetical Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Family Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Genus Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z