WILD STRAWBERRY[i]
(Fragaria vesca)
Family: Rosaceae
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Fragaria vesca
(Downs above Bignor, September 2002)
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Wild Strawberries are widespread throughout the British
Isles with the exception of the most northerly areas of Scotland (for
distribution maps see Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora).
They can be found growing prolifically in woodland glades and on grassy banks[ii].
The fruits ripen in early June and they can be harvested until the end of
August or even later.
Inedible look-alikes
Before the fruits form it can be difficult to distinguish
between Wild Strawberry and the equally common Barren Strawberry (Potentilla sterilis) which has very similar
leaves and flowers (for comparison of flowers and leaves of the two species
see: Easy Wildflowers).
If they are Barren Strawberry plants and you return a month later to harvest
the fruits, you’ll find that the flowers have ripened merely to clusters of
inedible dry achenes.
The two look-alikes are in fact easily distinguished—even
from their leaves. Each leaflet of the Barren Strawberry has a terminal tooth that’s
much shorter than the teeth on either side of it, whereas in the true Wild Strawberry
the terminal tooth is as long as, or longer than those on either side, even if
it’s quite narrow. Also, the hairs on the underside of Barren Strawberry leaves
stand upright, while those of the Wild Strawberry lie flat. Lastly, the upper
sides of Barren Strawberry leaves are often much darker than the light green
leaves of the true Strawberry (see also Jones 2018).
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Images showing differences in leaf morphology
[Photos: Gordon Hillman]. (Coldthorne Lane, Hailsham, April/May 2009)
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What we think of as the fruit of the strawberry plant is
actually just a fleshy receptacle. The true fruits—the structures produced by the
plant’s ovaries or carpels—are the little pips (or achenes) scattered over the
surface of this red receptacle. There have been various theories on the origins
of the name strawberry, for example, that it derives from the practice of
covering the lines of cultivated strawberry plants with a low ridge of loose
straw to hide the scarlet fruits from the sharp eyes of strawberry-loving birds;
or from the tradition of pickers who used to carry the fruits strung on pieces
of straw when taking them to market; or from Old English to ‘strew’ (see Online Etymology Dictionary),
which describes the plant’s runners that stray in all directions and look as if
they are strewn on the ground (Darrow 1966: 16; see also: Missouri Environment and Garden News).
Nutritional and
medicinal uses
Wild Strawberries may be small but they are packed with
flavour—with their combination of intense sweetness and effervescent tartness they
produce a taste explosion. They can be eaten raw or cooked, and are commonly
made into jams, jellies and juices; the leaves are also edible (Plants For A Future [PFAF] database;
see also: Jarić et al. 2007; Schunko and Vogl 2010; Vorstenbosch et al. 2017).
In the Upper Reno Valley (Bologna and Tuscany, Italy) an alcoholic drink is
made by fermenting Wild Strawberry fruits, and the recipe states: “Fill glass jar with wild strawberries, cover with
sugar, close jar and expose to sunlight for 40 days. The lightly fermented syrup, filtered and bottled, is
used as a drink, diluted with a double quantity of water.” (Egea et al.
2016: table 4; see also: Egea et al. 2015).
Wild Strawberry plants (flowers, fruits, leaves, stems,
roots) are a rich source of bioactive compounds known to have beneficial
effects in terms of promoting health and preventing disease; for example, they
are proven to be effective in the reduction of obesity and heart disease risk,
they provide protection against certain cancers, have anti-inflammatory,
antidiabetes, antioxidant and anticoagulant properties, and are also effective
blood pressure and cholesterol regulators (Afrin et al. 2016; Basu et al. 2016;
Dyduch-Siemińska et al. 2015; Liberal et al. 2014; Muthukumaran et al. 2017).
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Fragaria vesca – flowers and
leaves.
(Horam, Cuckoo Trail, May 2010)
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Strawberries are high in micronutrients, phenolic compounds
and ellagitannins[iii]; they are a
useful nutritional supplement for diets low in saturated fats and sodium, in
addition they contain high levels of potassium and fibre (Alvarez-Suarez et al.
2014; see also Nutrition Value online database).
Research has shown that the fresh strawberries have far more nutritive value
than the processed foods made from the fruits (e.g., jam, juice, purée, wine; Alvarez-Suarez
et al. 2014 8-9; but see also: Dyduch-Siemińska et al. 2015: 6, who comment that:
“Dried fruits have a
greater nutrient density, greater fiber content, increased shelf life, and
significantly greater phenol antioxidant content compared to fresh fruits”). The nutritional
content of the fruits (i.e., in terms of relative proportions of micronutrients,
bioactive compounds, vitamins, etc.) is also dependent on the variety of Wild
Strawberry, the time of cultivation and the date of harvesting (Jurgiel-Małecka et al. 2017: 208).
It is unsurprising, therefore, given the wealth of health
benefits of Wild Strawberries, that there are numerous references to
traditional uses of the plants. In Maden (Eastern Turkey, Elaziğ Province) the fruits
are commonly acknowledged to have many curative properties, including as an analgesic,
antiseptic, astringent and diuretic, and they are also used to treat several
gastric (e.g., stomach pains, enteritis, diarrhea) and urinary disorders (Çakılcıoğlu
et al. 2011). Similarly, the efficacy of the species in treating certain digestive
problems is recognised by villagers living at several locations in the mountainous Kopaonik region
of Central Serbia, but here the leaves (e.g., in the form of an infusion) are
used for their diuretic and laxative properties (Jarić et al. 2007). In addition, the leaves (washed
clean and placed externally on the affected area) are used to alleviate painful
haemorrhoids (ibid.: table 2). In the Palestinian West Bank 50 ml. of a
decoction made of leaves boiled in water is taken 5-6 times per day for
antibiotic purposes (Jaradat et al. 2016). In the Albanian Alps
in Kosovo an infusion of Wild Strawberry leaves is used as a neuro-relaxant (Mustafa
et al. 2012). And a traditional fermented liqueur made from Wild
Strawberry fruits is taken as a remedy for diseases of the circulatory, respiratory,
digestive, musculoskeletal and genitourinary systems in the Upper Reno Valley
(Bologna and Tuscany, Italy; Egea et al. 2015: supplementary data).
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Fragaria vesca – showing
achenes on the bright red,
fleshy receptacle. (Abbots Wood, June 2009)
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Prehistoric
and historic uses
Fragaria
vesca remains are found on archaeological sites of all periods
(for references see: Kroll 1997: 35). As is typical of many of the fruits
described in the Wild Plant Foods of
Britain blog, finds of Wild Strawberries are most frequently preserved in
waterlogged rather than charred form (see separate entries for
Blackberry, Sloe, Crab apple, Dog rose, Raspberry). There is very early
evidence of fruit gathering at the late Mesolithic/Ertebølle culture site of Tybrind
Vig in Denmark (c. 5600-4000 BC), where two achenes were identified in
submerged cultural deposits (Kubiak-Martens 1999). The disparity between quantities
of Wild Strawberry remains preserved by waterlogging versus charring is perhaps
most clearly exemplified in the archaeobotanical samples at Neolithic
pile dwelling (‘Pfahlbauten’) settlements[iv]
in southern Europe (for comparative quantitative data see: Colledge and Conolly
2014: table 4; Jacomet 2006[v]: table 3: Karg
and Märkle 2002: table 2). For example, large quantities of waterlogged Wild Strawberry
achenes were found at the late Neolithic lakeside settlements of Arbon Bleiche
3 in Switzerland (n=5,471; Jacomet et al. 2004) and Torwiesen II in Germany (n=48,413;
Herbig 2006) and at these two sites charred specimens
were present in very low numbers (0.07% (n=4) and 0.15% (n=73) of the total
waterlogged achenes, respectively). Thousands of waterlogged remains (but
no charred finds) are also recorded at early
Neolithic Egolzwil 3 (Switzerland, Bollinger 1994), middle Neolithic
Motte-aux-Magnins (France, Lundström-Baudais 1989), at the late Neolithic sites
of Horgen-Scheller (Switzerland, Favre 2002), Nidau-Schlossmatte/BKW
(Switzerland, Brombacher 1997), Sutz-Lattrigen (Lattrigen Hauptstation VII;
Switzerland, Brombacher 1997), Seekirch-Achwiesen (Germany, Maier 2004), Seekirch-Stockwiesen
(Germany, Maier 2004), Sipplingen (Germany, Riehl 2004) and Hočevarica (Slovenia, Jeraj et al. 2009), and
at final
Neolithic Clairvaux Les Lacs station III (France, Lundström-Baudais 1986). At Neolithic dry-land settlements, where only charred Wild
Strawberry achenes are preserved, the numbers are much lower (for two examples
where quantities exceed 100 see: Antolín and Jacomet 2015; Blankenhorn and Hopf 1982).
Charred Wild Strawberry remains were found within and around
the Copper Age (c. 3000-2800 BC) cremation chambers located along the Riparo
Valtenesi limestone terrace at Rocca di Manerba, on Lake Garda in Italy (Colledge
2007). The fruits were with placed with the human bones together with other
edible domestic and wild plants, including many colourful fruits, presumably as
dedications before the cremations took place, and the author comments: “The strawberries and raspberries would have
been easily accessible for gathering and, like the Cornelian Cherries, if
picked when mature both would have added to the vivid colours of the funerary
offerings.” (ibid.: 399).
The history of the use of Fragaria vesca dates back to the Roman period and several
well-known authors include references to the fruits in their works, including Cato
the Elder (234-149 BC), Virgil (70-19 BC), Ovid (43-18/17 BC), Pliny (23-79 AD) and Apuleius Barbarus (c. 6th
century AD; Darrow 1966: 15-16; Wilhelm 1974: 264). The brightly coloured
fruits are depicted in Roman frescoes, as at the ancient site of
Oplontis[vi]
in the Villa of Poppaea, where one painting shows a still life with a basket of
Wild Strawberries and other fruits. Jashemski et al. also mention the copy of a
painting (the original now no longer visible) on a pillar in the Villa of Diomedes
at Pompeii, showing a Wild Strawberry with roses and a butterfly (Jashemski et
al. 2002: 111 and figure 265).
Wild Strawberries appeared in many Medieval religious
paintings in the 1400s and are considered to have had symbolic meaning; Darrow
cites Haig (1913), who states: “the strawberry stands apart from all other symbolical fruits…. It is the
symbol of perfect righteousness” (Darrow 1966: 11-14; Sillasoo 2006: 64; see also: Łuczaj 2012). It is thought that the tripartite
leaves symbolised the Holy Trinity, the five petals of the flower represented
the wounds of Christ and fruits his blood (Darrow 1966: 13, citing the Swiss
herbalist Father Johann Künzle[vii]). The profusion
of religious depictions coincided with the time when strawberries were first cultivated
in Europe (for a comprehensive summary of the early history of the strawberry,
see: Darrow 1966: 15-23). In 1368 King Charles V of France reputedly asked his
gardener to plant 1,200 strawberries in the gardens at the Louvre in Paris
(Darrow 1966: 16). French aristocracy followed suit and in 1378 the Dukes of
Burgundy also had cultivated plots of the fruits (ibid.). Early documentary
evidence in Britain for the growing of strawberries in gardens comes from
references in Shakespeare’s plays, for example, in Richard III (written in c.
1593) Act III, scene IV (which takes place in the Tower of London) the Duke of Gloucester
asks the Bishop of Ely to fetch him some of the fruits:
When
I was last in Holborn,
I saw good strawberries in your garden there
I do beseech you send for some of them.
I saw good strawberries in your garden there
I do beseech you send for some of them.
Darrow comments that by the mid-1550s strawberries were so
popular in England that they were regularly farmed in order to satisfy demands,
he also cites Thomas Tusser who in his Five
Hundred Points of Good Husbandry (1557) advises that their cultivation is
best done by women:
Wife, into the
garden and set me a plot
With strawberry
roots, the best to be got;
Such growing abroad
among thorns in the wood,
Well chosen
and picked, prove excellent good.
There are numerous recorded finds of Wild Strawberries on Medieval
sites and many are preserved (commonly in waterlogged, mineralised or
desiccated form) in cess pits and midden deposits (Greig 1996). Approximately
800 achenes were identified in two organic layers inside the 15th
century Worcester barrel latrine (Greig 1981), thousands of Wild Strawberry
remains (c. 9,000) were recovered from two cess pits (15th/16th
century) at Göttingen in Lower Saxony, Germany (Hellwig 1997), average
concentrations of c. 500 achenes per litre are recorded for seven 11th-13th
century latrines at Überlingen on Lake Constance, Germany (Märkle 2005), and at the castle of
Marmorera[viii]
(c.14th century) in southeast Switzerland over 2,750 desiccated
achenes were found in a crevice to the west of the chapel where household
rubbish was routinely discarded (Akeret and Kühn 2008; for other Medieval
references, see: Bosi et al. 2009; Brombacher and Hecker 2015; Mazzanti et al.
2005; Rösch et al. 2005).
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[i] Also known as: woodland
strawberry, Alpine strawberry, Carpathian strawberry, European strawberry or ‘fraisier des bois’.
[ii] For example, on the South
Downs the carpets of wild strawberries in 2009 were so thick with fruits that it
was possible to gather over a kilo in one hour (Peter Owen-Jones, pers.comm.).
[iii] Ellagic acid (EA)—a plant
phenolic—derives from ellagitannins, and is linked to human health benefits
(Muthukumaran et al. 2017); the authors state: “Strawberries are considered a functional food and nutraceutical source,
mainly because of their high concentration of EA and its precursors.”
[iv] For a description of the depositional
processes at pile-dwelling settlements, see separate entry for Blackberry.
[v] In this paper Jacomet
notes: “The most important collected plants were
hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.), wild
apple (Malus sylvestris Miller),
sloe (Prunus spinosa L.), acorns
(Quercus spp.), blackberry and raspberry
(Rubus spp.), wild strawberry
(Fragaria vesca L.) and rose
(Rosa spp.)” (Jacomet 2006: 81).
[vii] For details see:
https://www.kp-kuenzle.ch/johan-kuenzle/ [accessed: 23.07.18]
[viii] The castle was built under
a massive rock shelter and this was the reason why so much of the organic
materials was preserved (for more details see Janosa 1993).
