Online Virtual Flora of Wisconsin

Fragaria virginiana Duchesne

Family: Rosaceae

thick-leaved wild strawberry, Virginia strawberry, wild strawberry

[Fragaria illinoensis W.R.Prince, more...]

Merel R. Black

Margery Melgaard

University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)

Open Interactive Map

Etymology: Fragaria: from the Latin fraga, "strawberry," which derives from fragum, "fragrant," from the fragrance of the fruit
Plants: erect, perennial, 4"-6" tall forb; spreading by runners
Leaves: basal, 3-parted, toothed; end tooth usually half as wide and shorter than the side teeth; leaflets stalked
Flowers: white, 5-parted, 1/2"-3/4" wide; inflorescence of up to 12 flowers on stalks usually shorter than the leaves; blooms April-June
Fruits: red, edible, juicy; roundish berry; seeds deeply imbedded fruit drawing

Habitat: meadows, fields, woods, forests

Forests of pine, jack pine-oak, aspen, oak, conifer-hardwoods, oak-pine, basswood-elm-oak-maple, maple-basswood, birch-balsam fir, aspen-elm-birch, oak-hickory, sugar maple-beech, aspen-birch-green ash, mixed conifers; in both mesic and lowland forests. Pine barrens, prairies of all kinds, wooded dolomite shores in Door Co., along railroads and roadsides (including gravel shoulders), lakeshores, riverbanks, meadows, forest edges, fields, disturbed open areas, marsh borders, lake dunes, lawns, open or wooded cliffs and bluffs, along trails, pine relicts, conifer swamps, bogs, old quarries, gravel pits, sedge meadows, edges of dune swales, logged areas. Common throughout the entire state and apparently more common than F. vesca.