The roots have also been used in herbal medicine, often in tea. Reportedly, Minutemen used tea from wild strawberry leaves to stave off scurvy during the American Revolution. Herbalists have used the teas to boost immunity, alleviate diarrhea, help with kidney and liver issues, and treat digestive issues. These teas are high in vitamin C and antioxidants. The leaves and flowers may be used in salads and are often used in herbal teas. However, in other species, like the Wild Strawberry native to the Himalayas called Fragaria daltoniana, the berries have little to no flavor.Įvery wild strawberry plant will taste a bit different, but generally, wild strawberries in the US and Europe are intensely flavorful, but less juicy than their cultivated counterparts. Some species of Wild Strawberry, like the Musk Strawberry, offer berries with intense aroma and flavor that gourmet food enthusiasts highly value. Historically, humans have harvested and used wild strawberries for food and medicine. Yes, the Wild Strawberry is edible in its entirety you can safely consume the roots, flowers, leaves, and fruit. From this cross, the English and Americans developed our modern garden varieties. While wild strawberries were cultivated in some European gardens as early as the 1300s, it was not until the 1700s that the Chilean Strawberry ( Fragaria chiloensis) and the Virginia Strawberry ( Fragaria virginiana) were brought to France and crossed to create the ancestors of our modern Garden Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa). This strawberry bread may have inspired the modern strawberry shortcake. Colonists recorded that some groups would mash and mix the berries with cornmeal and bake it into strawberry bread. Native Americans were eating strawberries before colonists arrived in the New World. Wild Strawberries are mentioned in Roman history as being used for medicinal purposes and have a long history of use in Chinese medicine. The first recorded evidence of strawberries in the archeological record dates back to the Mesolithic era (Middle Stone Age) between 10,000 to 5,000 BCE.ĭifferent species of wild strawberries naturally occur throughout much of the world, including Europe, South America, North America, and Asia. Archeologists have found evidence of humans consuming strawberries dating back thousands of years. Humans have eaten wild strawberries for much longer than cultivated varieties have existed. In addition to reproducing sexually by seed, they reproduce asexually, sending out stolons or runners that root and form new plants. What we call a berry is actually a receptacle, and what we call the seeds are achenes. Interestingly, strawberries are not true berries. Depending on the species and region, you may hear them called Alpine Strawberries, Woodland Strawberries, Wood Strawberries, Mountain Strawberries, or Common Strawberries. There are over twenty species of Wild Strawberries. Wild Strawberries (Fragaria sp.) are low-growing, herbaceous, perennial plants that are members of the Rosacea or Rose family. If you look long enough, you’ll find some big juicy berries, and they’ll have all the intense flavor of a wild strawberry, along with the big juicy texture of a cultivated one…and those are downright perfect. Generally, wild strawberries are more flavorful than cultivated strawberries, packing all the flavor of those big grocery store berries into a smaller package for a more intense bite. Some are large and juicy, like cultivated strawberries, and occasionally you’ll find a plant that produces flavorless fruit. While most wild strawberries are quite small and intensely flavored, they do vary quite a bit based on the plant. No wonder those little ones are hard at work peering into the grass! When I pick alongside them, I can usually accumulate a good-sized handful in about 5 minutes from a productive patch. My littles tend to pop them into their mouths as fast as they can find them, so it’s hard to know how many are harvested on a sunny summer afternoon. It helps that they’re down low at a baby’s height and perfectly sized for little fingers. The bright red berries are especially attractive to little ones, and my toddlers would spend hours scouring the lawn looking for these little jewels. They’re not picky about their environment, and they’ll grow with abandon given space. They don’t mind part shade, and they’ll gladly fruit in sandy soil that doesn’t support lawn grass. Wild strawberries are one of the simple pleasures of summer, and they grow just about anywhere their seeds are dropped. They have few look likes, so identifying wild strawberries is simple, even for children. Wild Strawberries (Fragaria sp.) are a common sight in midsummer, and you can harvest them anywhere from lawns to woodlands.
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