Wild strawberry plants in bloom. Courtesy: Bruce Ingram
I’ve never gathered enough wild strawberries to make a pie, jam, or shortcake. Indeed, the best haul I’ve ever had resulted in barely enough berries to slightly adorn a bowl of cereal. That said, wild strawberry plants are an important part of the Blue Ridge’s ecosystem and an important flora for us to search for this month.
Fragaria virginiana is one of the first plants to bloom in these mountains, thus supplying a wide variety of bees, butterflies, and moths with an important source of pollen and nectar. This wild fruit is also an important spring food for box and wood turtles, which, obviously, aren’t adept at feeding on fruits well off the ground. Bears, opossums, and raccoons are among the mammals that seek out strawberries, which also attract a wide variety of songbirds and game birds such as ruffed grouse and the wild turkey.
Years ago, my wife Elaine and I created a pollinator plot in our front yard. We transplanted wild strawberry plants growing near our mailbox (and susceptible to spraying from the highway department) to the plot. We also ordered some plants from Prairie Moon Nurseries. Consider growing some of these native plants in your yard this year.
Bruce and Elaine Ingram will profile a different wild edible every month. For more information on their book Living the Locavore Lifestyle, contact them at bruceingramoutdoors@gmail.com
