Wild Strawberry

Description

Botanical Name:  Fragaria virginiana

Common Name:  Wild Strawberry, Virginia Strawberry, Scarlett Strawberry

Description:  Did you know that Florida has a native strawberry plant?? AND that it produces delicious little strawberries that we can eat?? AND that its leaves can be used to make tea?? AND that it’s an amazing groundcover?? Well, now you do.

‘Wild strawberry is a rare perennial wildflower that occurs throughout much of the eastern United States and Canada. In Florida, it occurs naturally only in open fields and woodland edges of Jackson and Leon counties. The plant is a larval host for the Gray hairstreak butterfly. Its spring flowers attract bees and butterflies, while its tiny summer fruits are a treat for humans and wildlife. They can be eaten right off the plant or collected and used in jams, jellies or pies. The leaves, which are high in Vitamin C, can be brewed to make tea. Wild strawberry’s flowers have five overlapping white to pinkish-white petals. Both male and female parts are present. The pistil is greenish-yellow. Stamens are numerous and bear obvious bright-yellow anthers. Sepals are bright green and usually in numbers of 10. Leaves are trifoliate. Leaflets are deltate to obovate, thick, and slightly leathery with coarsely toothed margins. They may be bright green or bluish green and may have a glaucous surface. Pedicels, petioles and leaves are finely pubescent. Stems are smooth and procumbent. They produce many stolons that spread and form roots as they creep along the ground. Despite its common name, the fruit is not a true berry. It is an aggregate accessory fruit, meaning the fleshy part is actually the plant’s receptacle, not its ovary; and it is made of many ovaries formed from a single flower. What appear to be “seeds” covering the outside of the fruit are, in fact, achenes, or individual ovaries, each containing a single seed. Mature fruits are bright red and ½–¾ inch in diameter at the widest point.’  (Florida Wildflower Foundation website)

Plant this in sun, part sun, or part shade areas of your garden. It likes loamy or sandy soils that are well drained. It likes a moderately moist area that isn’t too dry or too wet. Is somewhat drought tolerant, but likes supplemental water during extended drought times. Is deer and rabbit resistant, which is kinda surprising to me. It grows 4 – 8 inches tall but spreads out via rooting at the leaf nodes. Is fast growing. Can also be grown in containers or hanging baskets. Don’t be expecting for it to produce those huge strawberries we buy at the stores. Nope, these are much smaller, about 1/2″ across. But their flavor is much sweeter than the others.

It attracts butterflies and other pollinators, and has special value to our native bees. It also attracts the good bugs, so add it to your Integrated Pest Management.

Can be grown as a replacement for that water and fertilizer thirsty lawn. It tolerates light foot traffic and can also be mowed occasionally. Is great for erosion control. But be aware that it might go somewhat dormant during times of summer drought.

This plant in 1-gallon containers has a spread of 5 – 15 inches.

Plant Lore:  The widely cultivated strawberry (F. x ananassa) is a hybrid of F. virginiana and Beach of Coastal strawberry (F. chiloensis), native to the Pacific coasts of North and South America. The genus name Fragaria is from the Latin fraga, meaning “strawberry.” Historically, many plants in this genus were mulched with straw in order to combat the possible onset of fungal diseases, hence the common name of strawberry.

Florida Hardiness Zones 8 – 9