Wild Strawberry

Fragaria virginiana Commonly known as Wild Strawberries, Virginia Strawberry, and Scarlet Strawberry. A ground-hugging, semi-evergreen, herbaceous perennial that typically grows to only 4-7” tall but spreads indefinitely by runners (stolons) which root to form new plants as they sprawl along the ground, often forming large colonies over time. It is native to woodland openings, meadows, prairies, limestone glades and cleared areas including roadsides across most of the U.S. and Canada. Each leaf has three coarsely toothed leaflets. Five-petaled white flowers with yellow center stamens bloom in April-May in flat umbel-like clusters. Flowers give way to strawberries which mature to red in a much smaller size (to 1/2” and across) than fruits produced by cultivated strawberry plants. Seeds are embedded in the pits of the strawberries.  Easily grown in fertile, moist to dry-mesic, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade (prefers some shade in Texas). Prefers organically rich, sandy loam