WILD STRAWBERY
(Fragaria vesca - Rose Family)
Edible and medicinal value:
Western Indians prepared a tea from the green leaves of the Strawberry plant. They also made use of the tiny, sweet fruit of the Strawberry.
Indians ate wild Strawberries for colds even before vitamin C was known. Juice from the wild Strawberry was mixed with water and used to bathe reddened eyes. This juice was also squeezed into inflamed sores and often showed healing effects. It was also used to relieve sunburn. A tea made from dried leaves was used for kidney trouble and relieving stomach trouble.
Minutemen from the American Revolution were saved from scurvy by drinking a tea made from the fresh green foliage of the wild Strawberry.
Indians would make bitters from wild Strawberry roots and use it as a tonic and blood purifier after a long cold winter. Wild Strawberries were mashed into a paste to remove tartar and clean teeth and was also used for toothaches.
Habitat:
Found from the lowest valleys to timberline in moist soils of woods, open meadows and along streams.
Description:
The leaves of the Strawberry have 3 toothed leaflets. The flower has 5 white petals. The red fruit is that of a typical strawberry only much smaller in size.
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