If you are planning to grow wild strawberries in your garden or snacking while hiking, you’ll want to make sure they are safe.
There are many people in the world who will tell you that wild strawberries are not edible, but that’s actually a myth.
In fact, wild strawberries are not only safe to eat, they are actually delicious and very nutritious.
What Are Wild Strawberries?
So for the sake of their formal name, wild strawberries are fragaria virginiana that belong to the rose family.
You’ll find them in the northern hemisphere and they produce small red fruits like the rest of their family.
The wild strawberry plant is a slightly different than the domestic plant. The wild plant has a runner that grows along the ground, then it produces a root system.
Once it takes root, it grows. In comparison to domestic strawberries, the fruit produced by a wild strawberry plant would have a lot more flavor.
That said–The fruit produced by the wild strawberry plant would be slightly darker than a domestic strawberry. The wild strawberries are much smaller and would more closely resemble a white strawberry with some as small as a pinky fingernail and some as large as an inch.
Like the other types of strawberry, the seeds of the wild strawberry are on the outside and are edible.
The seeds and fruit of the wild strawberry plant are edible; however, neither are propagated for commercial use due to the low level of yield.
Can You Eat Wild Strawberries?
There’s a lot of chatter that wild strawberries are poisonous, but that’s all just malarkey.
Wild strawberries are actually a delicious and nutritious food. Just remember, there are multiple species of wild strawberries, so be aware that one of them might not taste so great as the true wild strawberry.
Mock wild strawberries are just as safe to consume uninhibitedly as true wild strawberries, and like all the wild strawberries, mocking wild strawberries leave a weird aftertaste jerk to a regular strawberry.
They aren’t harmful but you definitely want to avoid them if you’re after something delicious.
Whether true wild strawberries or all species of wild strawberries, are considered edibles for human consumption. You can eat wild strawberries wherever you would normallyDetector’s strawberries.
The same goes for mock strawberries tablespoon, but you’re going to have to get around that funky aftertaste.
Take Note – The only time we would tell you to be cautious around wild strawberries is if you already know you have an allergy to regular strawberries, and you will likely experience the same allergic effect.
How To Identify Wild Strawberries
It’s pretty straightforward to identify wild strawberries because the fruit looks similar to what you’d buy at the store.
They are usually a darker red than what you usually see and obviously smaller.
Another clue, if you look at the bottom of the strawberry you will see little hairs; you may not find this on a grocery store berry.
If the plant has no flowers or fruit and you are just trying to find out if what you are looking at is a wild strawberry plant; the leaves can give you a lot of information.
Wild strawberry plants may have green leaves or bluish leaves; the leaves are trifoliate and have toothed edges.
The leaves are typically a lighter shade of green underneith. you might also see younger plants that have shinier leaves, noticeably darker once the plant has fully matured.
Prior to the fruit there is a flowering season. These flowers grow between the months of April and June.
The wild strawberry plant can flower and is white or pink. The flowers can be small, 5 petals.
Finally – obviously you want to see the fruit this is the easiest way to identify this plant too.
As noted, the fruit obviously looks similar or perhaps even identical to a commercial strawberry in shape, you will notice the wild strawberry has a deeper red color which is typically darker than what you would normally see and is smaller as can be.
The tip of the strawberry may or may not be white but the top of the strawberry is obviously going to be a lighter color than the rest of the fruit.
Are There Different Types Of Wild Strawberries?
What’s better than having the regular wild strawberry, is having different types of wild strawberry you can grow and munch on at mealtimes.
Normal wild strawberries, once grown, will sprout flowers, then edible fruit come early summer, once harvested they kind of just become dormant.
If you want to grow wild strawberries, you need to be able to give them the right conditions. You usually see these plants in USDA Hardiness zone 3 through 10.
It is just important to find the right variety, as it will also determine how good the strawberries will be to eat:
- Virginia wild strawberries are most commonly available for home growers, pretty small berries but extremely tasty. They also have some nice light green foliage that makes a pleasant spot in the garden.
- Coast wild strawberries sometimes called beach wild strawberries, have darker, shinier foliage, while it’s lovely it won’t taste nearly as good, so if you want something that’s going to yield, maybe do not choose these.
- Woodland wild strawberries while being apart of the same family have considerably larger leaves and flowers. Noticeably, this variety requires much more moist conditions than others as it would naturally live in wooded areas. The berries taste great, and are often much larger than any of the other wild strawberry plant.
Are Wild Strawberries Good For You?
It’s one thing to know that wild strawberries are a tasty snack but if you know that they’re also really healthy it’s a bonus!
There is actually proof that wild strawberries have medicinal properties.
You can actually use the leaves of the plant as an astringent, which is effective for gastrointestinal diseases like diarrhea.
You can use the leaves when they are fresh or dried. You can also use the root when you’re trying to treat diarrhea.
What’s more – the leaves are proven to be effective for symptoms from conditions such as arthritis and gout.
You can mash up the fruits from the wild strawberry plant and use the fruits as a treatment for sunburn by mashing them up into pulp.
The berries are also well-known for their ability to detoxify the liver and can also be used for fever reduction.
And at the lowest level, eating wild strawberries provides you with a wide variety of essential nutrients.
It contains significant amounts of vitamin B, C and E, and very significant amounts of magnesium, copper, potassium and iodine, amongst other things.
Conclusion
You can eat wild strawberries with ease. I would even go so far as to say they have exceptional health benefits.
While there are claims that these berries are poisonous, this is false, and the fruit produced by this plant will not hurt you.
Many people would agree that the flavor of wild strawberries is much more powerful and delightful than store bought strawberries, so this is something I would recommend if you’re looking for a wild and tasty snack.