Wild Strawberries

There are several wild strawberry species, but only one is worth eating, so it is worth learning how to identify them. They are considered one of the greatest treats you can wild forage, and archaelogical evidence suggests we have been eating them for thousands of years.

 

Barren Strawberry.

Around here there are three species that are frequently confused. They are Barren Strawberry Potentilla sterilis (Fr. Potentille faux fraisier), Mock Strawberry Potentilla indica (Fr. Fraisier d'Inde) and Wild Strawberry Fragaria vesca (Fr. Fraisier des bois).

 

Barren Strawberry.

One has leaves that look just like a wild strawberry plant, and white flowers that greatly resemble the true wild strawberry. Many people will delightedly leave these growing in their garden when they turn up, but then be disappointed because they never have any fruit. That's because they are Barren Strawberries and if you know what to look for there are ways of telling them apart by looking carefully at the tip of the leaves and flowers.

 

Mock Strawberry.

Then there is another one, which does have alluring looking red fruit, but when you eat one they taste of nothing. Luckily they aren't toxic, so you won't do yourself any harm if you eat them, but they are disappointing. These are the Mock Strawberries. They are not native, but introduced from Asia and have naturalised.

 

Mock Strawberry.

All these species grow in the same season, and in the same habitats. It is not uncommon to encounter a mixture of species growing intermingled.

 

Wild Strawberries.

 

So here are my top tips for telling them apart:

Wild Strawberries

1. White flowers with rounded petals which overlap.
2. Drooping or hanging conical fruit.
3. Strong sweet floral strawberry flavour.*

Mock Strawberries

1. Yellow flowers with a ruff of green bracts that sits just below the pointed calyxes and extend beyond the flowers.
2. Globular fruit on erect stems.
3. Insipid taste.

Barren Strawberries

1. White flowers with knotched petals that do not overlap.
2. No fruit.
3. Leaves have a central tooth at the tip which is shorter than the ones either side.
   

 

Wild Strawberry.

*I know most people who know Wild Strawberries rave about them and are thrilled to find them, but personally I find them a bit too soapy tasting.