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florasita
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| Posted: June 12 2007 at 5:27pm | IP Logged
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Can someone tell me are these edible ? The wild strawberry plants are just flowering now . They have the nicest little white flowers . Can we eat them ?
Thanks , Rox
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jugglingpaynes
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Wild strawberries are edible. My youngest loves them, but the rest of the family find our wild strawberries bland and seedy. Maybe it's the idea of foraging that appeals to her.
According to my Field Guide to Wild Herbs (by the editors of Rodale Press), the berries, stems and stalks can be eaten raw. Leaves can be used for tea, but leaves are poisonous if used raw. I suppose that means the heat of steeping neutralizes the poison, but just to be safe, I avoid anything other than the berry and I kept an eye on our forager in the garden when she was younger. Of course, it always helps to ask advice of a local naturalist or park ranger. I like having an expert's verification. We usually bring a sample of a questionable plant to show our park ranger.
Hope that helps,
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florasita
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Thanks Christina maybe I'll call conservation or something like that . now I'm off to the our lady's loom to figure out what to do with a spinning wheel  Thanks again . Rox
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caallas
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When I was a little girl in Northern Minnesota we used to pick wild strawberries to eat. I LOVED them. I don't know if the climate makes a difference but they were very tasty. Domesticated strawberries to me have never been able to compare.
And then don't get me started on wild blueberries 
Cindy
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jugglingpaynes
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caallas wrote:
When I was a little girl in Northern Minnesota we used to pick wild strawberries to eat. I LOVED them. I don't know if the climate makes a difference but they were very tasty.
Cindy |
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We get a different variety. They have yellow flowers and the berry rarely gets bigger than the size of a blueberry. I'm sure we would all be grazing for a nice white flowered wild berry! Those I had to plant, but they've been producing nicely for 4 years now. And the catbird even let us have more than a handful this year! 
I love growing berries. Aside from nurturing the wild strawberries and blackberries, I've also planted blueberries and elderberry bushes. My latest attempt is an American cranberry.
Peace and Laughter,
Cristina
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lapazfarm
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There are a few species of wild strawberry.
The white flowered ones are Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry)and Fragaria vesca (hillsde strawberry) which are both edible and very delicious.
The yellow flowered species,Duchesnea indica, is actually a mock strawberry or Wood strawberry and is usually tasteless or at least bland. But they won't hurt you.
I have found them growing in very similar circumstances, even side by side, so unless you see the bloom it is hard to tell them apart. Until you taste them.
We just had some most excellent wild berries on our hillside this year. Yum!
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jugglingpaynes
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And yet, my daughter gobbles down wood strawberries as if they were the one thing she waited for all winter!
Thanks for the id on mine. Duchesnea indica. I knew it couldn't be a real strawberry because of its look, but they've always been called wild strawberries around here. I will inform my "experts" at the nature center! 
Peace and Laughter,
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lapazfarm
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Oh, boy.  I don't want to go against any experts. I am purely an amateur.
Check out these links and see what you think:
mock strawberry
wild strawberry
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florasita
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Yep that's it Teresa wild strawberry ! so pretty .
we are in canada and a colder climate the berries are no bigger then a blueberry but really tasty .
those flowers are just so pretty
thanks for the links . Rox
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jugglingpaynes
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LOL! That's definitely our "strawberry!"
Even experts can't be expert on every aspect of nature! The park ranger who originally told us they were wild strawberries was more of an expert on mammals. She's now studying for her Masters/PhD in primatology. I think I've taught our park rangers almost as much as they've taught me! Long live learning! 
Peace and Laughter,
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lapazfarm
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jugglingpaynes wrote:
Even experts can't be expert on every aspect of nature! |
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That is certainly true! And it seems the more we learn, the more we realize just how very little we know!
Thanks to God for giving us more than a lifetime's supply of beauty to discover!
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: wild strawberry flowers ?
