1.8 Fragaria Virginiana

1. Plant Description

Fragaria Virginiana, commonly known as wild strawberry, field Strawberry. This plant is a:

• Perennial: Regrowth after each year
• Eudicot: The plant has two embryonic leaves
• Angiosperm: The plant produces flowers and fruit
• Herbaceous: This plant has no woody stem; it has a soft, green stem
• Root: This plant has a fibrous root system that is thin and spread out from the crown of the plant.
• Monoecious: Each flower contains both stamens and pistils.

2. Identification

Location: This plant is commonly found in fields, meadows, forest edges or slopes (Colorado Plant Database, 2025).

Flowering: Flowering occurs in late April to early May in SW Ontario. The flower has a radially symmetrical shape, with five petals per flower. The petal has a white colour and each petal has an oval to round shape (Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team, 2025). The flower usually grows in a close cluster on a pedicel (small stem). This flower is perfect because at the centre of it, there are around 20 yellow stamens (male part) and many yellow pistils (female part).

Leaves: The leaves grow in a trifoliate, meaning each leaf is made up of three leaflets. The leaf shape is obovate, which means the base of the leaf is round and then it gets narrower toward the tip of the leaf (North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 2025). The upper part of the leaves has a bluish green colour with a smooth surface, and the lower part has a velvety texture because of the hair present on the leaves (Minnesota Wildflowers, 2025). The margins of the leaves are dentate, meaning they are coarsely toothed on the margins.

Fruit: The fruit is small, round and red with achenes, the little seeds that are on the outside of the fruit. The achenes are embedded in the surface of the fruit, and they are around 1.5 mm long. (Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team, 2025).

3. Cultivation

Soil: Fragaria Virginiana prefers dry and sandy soil in places that are somewhat moist, like grassy edges and hills. (Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team, 2025).
Sun: The plant would grow best in full sun. (Piedmont Master Gardeners, 2025)
Runner: The plant reproduces by runners, which are stems that resemble roots to form new plants. The runners are often dull red. Since the seed germination of Fragaria Virginiana is poor, these runners are the main way that this plant reproduces. (Lake Forest College, n.d.)
Ground cover: This plant grows low to the ground and spreads quickly by stolon, so it can slow water erosion.

4. Cultural History

Fragaria Virginiana get its name from the Latin word “fraga” meaning strawberry, and the Virginiana means “of Virginia”. These plants got the common name “strawberry” from their traditional use of being mulched with straw to prevent the onset of fungal diseases. Dysentery was treated with tea made from the dried leaves of this plant. (PlantWatch, n.d.)

5. Life Cycle

Flowering: The white flower blooms in early spring; it has both male and female parts for reproduction. The flower contains 20 yellow stamens (male part), which produce pollen and many yellow pistils (female part), which contain ovules in the centre. Inside the anthers, there are pollen grains, which develop from haploid microspores. In the ovules, the female gametophyte was developed from a haploid megaspore.

Mature fruit: The achenes, the little seeds that sit on the surface, are the actual fruit of the plant. They each contain 1 singular seed, and they can germinate in the right conditions to produce a new plant. The red, fleshy part of the plant is the enlarged receptacle, which is the base of the flower. They are small and sweet, and it is produced from around June to July.

Seeds Spread by Animals: The seed can be spread by animals like birds or small mammals. The animal would ingest the fleshy part along with the seed and excrete the seed in a new location. Insects like bees and butterflies would pollinate the flower.

Asexual reproduction: F. Virginiana use stolon, a horizontal stem that grows along the ground, to produce roots and branches. The new identical plant will grow at nodes along the stolon, helping the plant to cover the ground quickly and survive more efficiently (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.).

6. Anatomy and Physiology

Dermal tissue: The protective layer of the stem, root, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed of the plant is the epidermis tissue which is 1 cell thick. It protects the plant from injury, water loss, and infection. In stems/leaves, stomata allow gas exchange; in roots, epidermis aids absorption with root hairs.

Ground tissue: Includes parenchyma, collenchyma, and sclerenchyma. Parenchyma: photosynthesis & storage (fleshy berry tissue). Collenchyma: flexible support. Sclerenchyma: rigid support, lignified walls.

Vascular tissue: Xylem transports water/minerals upward; phloem transports sugars from photosynthesis to the rest of the plant.

7. Summary

Wild strawberry is an easy plant that anyone can plant in their garden.
It produces amazing red “fruit” and helps the pollinator.

8. References