Leaf
Daniel Barthélémy, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Woodland strawberry
Fragaria vesca L.
Also known as: Wild strawberry, Alpine strawberry
Family: Rosaceae
10 to 20 cm tall
Open woodland, gardens, banks, cool soils
Flowering: April – July
Part shade
Full sun
Hardy to -30°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Its tiny strawberries are far more fragrant than cultivated strawberries, although much smaller. The wild strawberry has much smaller fruits and finer foliage — the garden strawberry has been selected for large fruits.
🍃 Leaves
Trifoliate, toothed, bright green, slightly hairy beneath
🌸 Flowers
Small white flowers with 5 petals, yellow centre
🍎 Fruits
Small red strawberries about 1 cm across, very fragrant and sweet, much smaller than those of the garden strawberry.
🪵 Bark
Basal clump with creeping runners
🗺️ Distribution
Europe, temperate Asia; very common in open woodland and on banks in France.
🐝 Value for pollinators
Small white flowers, nectar-bearing and rich in pollen, visited by bees and various insects in spring.
✂️ Horticultural uses
Ground cover for woodland and edgings, vegetable garden; small, fragrant red fruits very much appreciated.
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity, edible fruits.
⚠️ Look-alike species
Woodland strawberry
Fragaria vesca
Garden strawberry
Fragaria x ananassa
The wild strawberry has much smaller fruits and finer foliage — the garden strawberry has been selected for large fruits.
🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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