WILD STRAWBERRY

Fragaria vesca

Rose Family [Rosaceae]

Flowers:
month8apr month8april month8may month8jun month8june month8jul month8july

Berries: berryZpossible        berryZred  (edible, small, a fruit)
berry8jun berry8june berry8jul berry8july berry8aug

status
statusZnative
flower
flower8white
inner
inner8yellow
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZ5
stem
stem8round

19th April 2007, Chirk, Wales. Photo: © RWD
The whole plant stands less that a foot tall, reaching twice the height of Barren Strawberry.


8th April 2009, Coppermines Valley, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Deeply crimped shiny green trefoil leaves. White flowers.


8th April 2009, Coppermines Valley, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Leaves deeply toothed. White flowers with five mostly slightly over-lapping petals. Yellow centres.


8th April 2009, Coppermines Valley, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
A hairy plant. Flowers have no gaps between the petals,unlike those of Garden Strawberries or those of Barren Strawberry.


8th June 2007, Glenridding, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
When turning to berries the flowers droop downwards. Triangular sepals at rear number 10±1.


8th June 2007, Glenridding, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
White petals without intervening gaps, unlike those of Barren Strawberry which have large gaps.


10th June 2009, Smardale, Yorkshire. Photo: © RWD
Some flower have but four petals. The yellow centres eventually become the edible red berries. Berries, which are much smaller than Garden Strawberries, droop ground-wards.


8th April 2009, Coppermines Valley, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Petals do not have any slight nick in the centre, unlike those of Barren Strawberry.


8th June 2007, Glenridding, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Miniature red strawberries are edible, but unlike those of Garden Strawberry have the seeds (pips) proud of the surface rather than sunken into small pits.


8th June 2007, Glenridding, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Deeply toothed and crimped leaves are shiny green on upper surface when new, and pale green on the underside with appressed hairs [un-like as in Barren Strawberry where the hairs are spreading].


Possible confusion with : Barren Strawberry.

Not to be confused semantically with : Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo), or Strawberry Dogwood (Cornus kousa) another tree.

Strangely, Barren Strawberry is under a different Genus (Potentilla) than that of either Garden Strawberry or Wild Strawberry (Fragaria).

The fruits of Wild Strawberry look like miniature Strawberries, are edible and taste of Strawberries, but are much smaller than those of Garden Strawberry.


USE BY BUTTERFLIES
LAYS EGGS ON CATERPILLAR CHRYSALIS BUTTERFLY
Grizzled Skipper



  Fragaria vesca  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Rosaceae  

Distribution
 family8Rose family8Rosaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Fragaria
Fragaria
(Strawberries)

WILD STRAWBERRY

Fragaria vesca

Rose Family [Rosaceae]

WildFlowerFinder Homepage