The Dawes Arboretum

Common name: Virginia strawberry, wild strawberry

Family: Rosaceae (rose family)

Distribution: North America (naturalized elsewhere)

Life form: Herbaceous perennial

Comments: Walking along the Woodland Garden trail, you may see wild strawberry growing in spreading clumps. It is a short plant, growing only 4-7" tall, but will spread almost indefinitely by runners (i.e., stolons) that root to give rise to new plants. Wild strawberry grows in woodlands, meadows, and prairies. The foliage consists of a trifoliate leaf with three coarsely toothed leaflets. From April to May, five-petaled white flowers bloom in clusters of about four to six. The flowers then give way to the fruits, what we know as strawberries, which mature from white to red and are just as edible as the strawberries you find in the grocery store. Those cultivated strawberries are a result of a cross between this species of wild strawberry native to North America and another species native to South America (Fragaria chiloensis); our native wild strawberry has a delicious flavor and the South American species produces larger fruit so their crossing combines the best of both! Wild strawberry has enormous wildlife value because of its fruits and it is visited by a number of different types of pollinators.