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Wild Strawberry is a member of the Rosaceae or Rose family. Its scientific name, Fragaria virginiana, fragaris is Latin for strawberry and virginiana is either because the plant was first collected in Virginia or to honor that state.
This perennial spreads by growing rhizome and stolons or runners and by seeds from its tasty fruit. Its leaves have 3 green leaflets with jagged edges and short, sparsely hairy leaf stalks and stems. The flowers are white, with 5 petals and many pistils, clustered together in bunches of 2 to 15.
In the Algonquin Highlands, open fields and clearings, and woodland edges are a good place to look for Wild Strawberry from April to May. The delicious fruits often eaten raw, but also made into jams and jellies. The leaves are often made into tea. Both the fruit and the leaf are high in vitamin C.
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