Wild strawberry

Fragaria virginiana

Wild Strawberries prefer a rich soil ranging from full to partial sun in moist to dry conditions. F. virginiana prefers less moisture than the other species and more sun. The roots are rhizomatous, and plants will send out above ground runners in early summer, which root at their nodes. Crowns of the original plants are usually not divided, simple thin out the plants and transplant. Once a runner is rooted, it can be separated from the parent plant. The small fruits are, red when ripe, 1/2 to 3/4 inches long and somewhat rounded, fragrant, and edible. Leaves are all basal on long stalks. They are 3-parted, toothed on the margins and the individual leaflets are usually on short stalks and the leaflet tip tooth is usually half as wide and shorter than the side teeth. wild strawberries have 5-parted 1/2-3/4 inch flowers with wide white rounded petals that have clawed bases. Plants can vary in having flowers that are functionally bisexual (perfect), functionally staminate (male) or functionally pistillate (female).