Woodland Strawberry, Fragaria vesca, Native Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Common Strawberry & Woodland Strawberry	Fragaria virginiana Duchesne & Fragaria vesca L.	Rose	Woodland and Upland	Spring to Early summer
Other names and notes	The wild strawberries have white flowers in small clusters. The Wood Strawberry holds these clusters on a stem above the coarsely toothed leaves with the seeds on the surface of the fruit. Leaves are three-part leaflets with the leaflets mostly stalkless. The end tooth of the leaf is usually wider than the side teeth and often longer. The Common Strawberry (or Virginia Strawberry), Fragaria virginiana, usually has the flower cluster at the leaf level or below and the seeds are embedded in the surface of the fruit. Leaflets are on short stalks and the end tooth is usually half as wide and shorter than the side teeth. Like garden strawberries, they spread by runners. Both are native to Minnesota. The common name of "strawberry" is believed to come from old English "straw", the past tense of "strew" which refers to the tangle of vines the plant can make on the ground as it grows and grows. It has nothing to do with placing straw under the berries as they ripen.


Above: The Wood Strawberry. The flowers look the same. The difference in these photos is simply the age of the flower.
Below: The Common Strawberry. Note the shorter end tooth on the leaflet tip. Right: The fruit of the Common Strawberry on a stalk will below the level of the leaves.

Photo above ©Margery Melgaard, Freckmann Herbarium, University of Wisconsin Steven’s Point	Photo above: ©Christopher Noll, Freckmann Herbarium, University of Wisconsin Steven’s Point

Notes: Martha Crone, in her 1951 inventory of Garden plants, listed listed both species as present in the Garden. She listed the wood strawberry as Fragaria americana, which is now listed on the Minnesota Vascular Plants List (ref.28C) as a variety of F. vesca. She had noted in her Garden Log of 1933 that she planted F. virginiana.

Lore: In her study of plants used by the Minnesota Chippewa, Densmore reports on several uses of F. virginiana. The leaves are slightly astringent and the root is diuretic. For digestive system ailments of children the method was to steep 2 or 3 roots in a quart of boiling water. Then let the child drink freely of it. Of course the berries of both species can be eaten. F. virginiana was introduced to Europe from Virginia in 1629 according to Mrs. Grieve. Prior to that F. vesca had it's own history in plant lore. It is also astringent so many of the uses were as laxatives, diuretics and astringents. More unusual, the fresh fruit was considered a dentifrice and a cosmetic. If fresh juice was allowed to remain on your teeth for five minutes and then cleansed with warm water to which bicarbonate of soda was added, teeth discoloration would be lessened [perhaps it was the soda]. Also if a freshly cut berry was rubbed over your face immediately after washing, the skin would be whitened. Left on for a longer time, sunburn could be treated.

Return to -- Site Plan/Archive --or-- List of Common Plant Names -- or -- List of Scientific Names -- or --Home Page

References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

122010