Exquisitely sweet, deliciously ruby-red and delectably tiny, wild strawberries are the candy of the countryside – and a sure sign that summer is on its way
There’s nothing quite like foraging for summer fruits in the fields or woodlands of the countryside to confirm that the season is well and truly in full swing.
To hunt for wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca) adds an extra layer of excitement, with each tiny red fruit packing a berry bright, condensed punch of strawberry-vanilla flavour that makes even the pick of its cultivated counterparts (Fragaria x ananassa) pale into insignificance. When I was a child, finding one of these beauties was worth crawling around under hedgerows – a quarter of nature’s ‘midget gems’ if you were lucky.
How to spot wild strawberries
Wild strawberries are diminutive by nature. Their glossy, bright-green toothed leaves grow in threes along lengthy, above-ground runners that easily root down into even a tiny bit of soil from up to a metre away. White, five-petalled, golden-centred flowers appear between April and August, ripening into deep-red, heart-shaped fruits of around 1cm in size between July and September.
The whole plant doesn’t get much taller than 10cm to 30cm in height, an ideal size for nestling at the foot of hedgerows or sheltering within clusters of spring and summer wildflowers, allowing just enough sunlight for it to fruit.
Where to find wild strawberries
The grassy banks and open woodlands of limestone and chalky downlands are its preferred habitat, although the plant is now reaching near-threatened status in England due to changes in countryside management and the decline in wildflower-meadow habitats. Wild strawberries are also native to most of Europe; alternative names include Alpine strawberry, Carpathian strawberry and European strawberry.
The most prolific wild strawberry harvests I have ever encountered were in Sweden’s wildflower meadows, where friends taught me to thread each delectable fruit on to a spike of rush grass to easily carry home or munch along the way.
How to use wild strawberries
As with their cultivated relatives, wild strawberries produce ‘false fruits’ – a fleshy, enlarged receptacle – with each exterior ‘seed’ being (technically) an actual fruit. Archaeological remains suggest that wild strawberries have been eaten since the Stone Age, while written accounts, such as Mrs M Grieves’ A Modern Herbal (1931), list the plant as having both culinary and medicinal uses, employing the fruits, leaves and roots.
Praised for its laxative, diuretic and astringent properties, traditional medicinal uses include treating gout, alleviating sunburn and lightening freckles. Today, the fruit is widely eaten as a fresh treat, or if enough can be collected, turned into sauce or jam.
How to grow wild strawberries
To cultivate at home, grow in fertile, moist, well-drained and preferably alkaline soil as ground cover or at the front of borders or pots. Wild strawberries are tolerant of shade but need adequate sunlight to fruit. To propagate, simply lift and divide runners to transplant elsewhere.
Find out more
If you're interesting in growing cultivated varieties, check out our comprehensive strawberry guide: the best varieties, how to grow and where to pick, elderflower guide: how to identify, where to find it and elderflower recipes, British apple guide: traditional apple varieties and recipe ideas, plus how to grow your own tree and blackberry guide: where to find, how to cook and recipe ideas.
