Description
Fragaria vesca, commonly called wild strawberry, woodland strawberry, Alpine strawberry, Carpathian Strawberry, European strawberry, or fraisier des bois, is a nice ground covering plant with fruit and flowering often appearing together on a bed of green leaves. Wild strawberry fruit are smaller than cross-bred strawberry varieties, and have not had any human intervention. The taste is stronger and sweeter, but shelf-life is short, so eat fruits shortly after being picked.
White flowers are short-lived and can be seen from around April to May. Fragaria vesca is found throughout the UK in most places, including woodland edges, roadside verges, and hedgerows.
The fruit of Fragaria vesca may be smaller than the larger fruits of human-engineered strawberries – but wild strawberry plants definitely pack a more intense flavour punch!