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| ## wood strawberry {#wood-strawberry .Title-Header}                   |
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| *Fragaria vesca* L.                                                   |
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| Plant Symbol = FRVE                                                   |
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# *Contributed By: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center*

#### Alternate Names

Woodland strawberry; California strawberry

#### Uses 

*Ethnobotanic*: The fruit was gathered by native peoples throughout the
United States and Canada. Such cultural groups include the Micmac,
Huron, Potawatomi, Creek, Blackfoot, Iroquois, and many other groups.
The fruit was eaten raw and not preserved by California Indian tribes
including the Coast Yuki and the Karok. Furthermore, a tea was made from
the leaves by the Upriver Halkomelem and Sechelt of British Columbia,
the Cowlitz of Washington and the Micmac of the maritimes.

*Wildlife*: The Portola woodrat and the valley quail eat the fruit and
leaves of wild strawberries.

#### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status
and wetland indicator values.

#### Description

*General*: Rose Family (Rosaceae). This herbaceous perennial plant
spreads by seed, short rhizomes and leafless stolons. The toothed leaves
are thin and basal with a petiole generally 3-12 cm. They appear in
leaflets of 3 and are sparsely hairy above. The flowers have 5 white
petals with numerous pistils and 20-35 stamens. The five bractlets are
often 2-lobed. The red fleshy fruit is covered with
achenes.![](media/image2.png){width="2.2402777777777776in"
height="3.1354166666666665in"}

#### Distribution

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Web site. It is found in northwestern California,
the Cascade Ranges, the Sierra Nevada, central-western California, San
Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, to eastern North America, and
south to Baja California and also Europe.

#### Establishment

*Adaptation*: This plant is found below 2000 m in partial shade of
closed-cone pine, evergreen, mixed conifer forests, and chaparral and
has a very wide distribution.

*Planting:* Dig up plantlets or runners and plant them in pots in
summer, make sure to cover the stems and roots in soil. Place the pots
in a hothouse to establish good, strong roots. Water the plants or
runners and keep them moist. Plant the seedlings outdoors in the ground
in the fall or winter after the rains have started. They should be
planted in full sun in a light, loose soil, about ten inches apart. It
will not take long for the plants to make a complete ground cover.
Lightly fertilize the plants during the growing season. Note that those
plants that have bigger flowers usually have less fruit while those with
smaller flowers have more fruit. Protect the plants from gophers, deer,
squirrels, raccoons, and other wildlife.

#### Management 

Keep the runners pruned back because they can be invasive. It is
necessary to divide the patch every 3 to 4 years and start a new patch
for increased vigor. Younger plants are more vigorous and produce more
berries.

#### Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

FRVE is somewhat available through native plant nurseries within its
range. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service
(formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look
in the phone book under "United States Government." The Natural
Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading
"Department of Agriculture."

#### References

Chesnut, V.K. 1902. *Plants used by the Indians of Mendocino County,
California*. Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium Vol. VII.
Reprinted by the Mendocino County Historical Society in 1974.

Dixon, R.B. 1905. *The Huntington California expedition: the Northern
Maidu*. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History
17(3):119-346.

Ertter, B. 1993. *Fragaria*. Page 952 IN: The Jepson Manual: Higher
Plants of California. J.C. Hickman (ed.). University of California
Press, Berkeley, California.

Gifford, E.W. 1965. *The Coast Yuki*. Sacramento Anthropological Society
Paper 2:1-97. Sacramento, California.

Kuhnlein, H.V. & N.J. Turner 1991. *Traditional plant foods of Canadian
indigenous peoples: Nutrition, botany, and use*. Gordon and Breach
Science Publishers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Martin, A.C., H.S. Zim, & A.L. Nelson 1951. *American wildlife and
plants: A guide to wildlife food habits.* Dover Publications, Inc., New
York, New York.

Schenck, S.M. & E.W. Gifford 1952. *Karok ethnobotany*. Anthropological
Records 13(6):377-392.

USDA, NRCS 1999. *The PLANTS database*. National Plant Data Center,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. \<http://plants.usda.gov\>. Version: 990412.

#### Prepared By & Species Coordinator

*M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

c/o Plant Sciences Department, University of California, Davis,
California

*Wayne Roderick*

Former Director of the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Berkeley,
California

Edited: 05dec00 jsp; 19may03 ahv; 07jun06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
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large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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