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| ## Pacific beach strawberry {#pacific-beach-strawberry .Title-Header} |
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| *Fragaria chiloensis* (L.) P. Mill. ssp. *pacifica* Staudt            |
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| Plant Symbol = FRCHP                                                  |
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##### *Contributed By: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden*

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.7916666666666665in" height="2.0in"}

# 

# Alternative Names

Beach strawberry. This subspecies is recognized as having three related
subspecies: *chiloensis*, *lucida*, and *sandwicensis*. *Frageria
chiloensis* ssp. *sandwicensis* is known as the Sandwich beach
strawberry.

# Use 

*Ethnobotanic*: This strawberry produces many more fruits than the wood
strawberry and has a great flavor. It was gathered and eaten raw by the
Makah, Quileute, and Quinault of western Washington. It was also
harvested for its fruit by the native peoples of Alaska and coastal
British Columbia. The Wiyot, Pomo, and other tribes in California
savored the fruits. The plant is also used medicinally by the Quileute
by chewing the leaves and spitting them on burns.

*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*: This herbaceous perennial plant spreads by seed and also by
short rhizomes and leafless stolons. The toothed leaves are leathery,
basal with a petiole generally 2-20 cm. They appear in leaflets of 3 and
are glabrous (not hairy) above. The flowers have 5 white petals that are
10-18 mm, with numerous pistils and 20-35 stamens. The five bractlets
are unlobed. The red fleshy fruit is covered with achenes.

# Distribution

This plant is found below 200 m, in dune and grassland communities of
coastal California. It is found from Alaska to coastal South America and
Hawaii. For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page
for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

# Establishment

Dig up plantlets or runners and plant them in pots in summer. Be sure to
cover the stems and roots with soil. Place the pots in a hothouse to
establish good, strong roots. Water the plants or runners and keep them
moist. Plant the plants 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 and 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 three to four 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)

Seeds and plants of selected *Fragaria* cultivars are available from
many nurseries. It is best to plant species from your local area,
adapted to the specific site conditions where the plants are to be
grown.

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

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

Goodrich, J., C. Lawson, & V. P.Lawson 1980. *Kashaya Pomo plants*.
American Indian Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles,
California.

Gunther, E. 1992. *Ethnobotany of western Washington: The knowledge and
use of indigenous plants by Native Americans*. University of Washington
Press, Seattle, Washington.

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.

Loud, L.L. 1918. *Ethnogeography and archaeology of the Wiyot
territory*. University of California Publications in American
Archaeology and Ethnology. 14(3):221-436.

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.

# Prepared By

##### *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

*Wayne Roderick*

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

# Species Coordinator

##### *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

c/o Plant Science Department, University of California, Davis,
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/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*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
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
Service](http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/).*