Awhile back, I put a photo of a mystery strawberry like plant at the end of a post with lots of other photos, asking folks if they knew what it was. Now that it has more berries and a bloom at the same time, I did more research and have decided these must be Indian Strawberries, which also go by a number of other names. Different sites had some contradictory information about whether they are edible. Most said they are tasteless. That's actually why I didn't think these were those before, because I tasted one, and they do to have some flavor. They aren't bad. Here's a link to one of the sites I thought helpful.
I had thought these were runners from the strawberry plants like the larger one in this photo that a friend of mine gave me a couple years ago. You can see the smaller ones in the upper part of the photo.
These photos did not turn out very well focussed. The close up was worse.
So, now I have to decide if I'm going to let these grow. If they would have said they are native, I would for sure. I think I will so far, though, because they are doing well in the area behind the trees, where it's hard to get other things to grow. I'll have to be sure to keep them from spreading farther than I want them to. I sure would like to know how they got there!
Do you have any experience with these?
I had thought these were runners from the strawberry plants like the larger one in this photo that a friend of mine gave me a couple years ago. You can see the smaller ones in the upper part of the photo.
These photos did not turn out very well focussed. The close up was worse.
So, now I have to decide if I'm going to let these grow. If they would have said they are native, I would for sure. I think I will so far, though, because they are doing well in the area behind the trees, where it's hard to get other things to grow. I'll have to be sure to keep them from spreading farther than I want them to. I sure would like to know how they got there!
Do you have any experience with these?
I immediately recognized these as being the same wild strawberry plants I bought years ago and which went crazy in my garden. We pulled all the plants out eventually several years later as they took over, but every now and then they reappear all over the garden. They were pretty and fairly hardy but also became susceptible to rust. I think they were quite thirsty by nature and did not relish our hot dry summers. I was told they can be eaten although fairly tasteless and that the fruit can be used to whiten ones teeth. I never tried either option!
ReplyDeleteI have these growing in my yard, but they aren't as healthy looking as yours! I like to think that the birds possibly brought them here and if so, as long as they are growing in areas that need the groundcover, I will leave them.
ReplyDeleteVery brave of you to taste them, I have yet to try one of mine!
Looks like they need squashed.
ReplyDeleteSorry I can be no help with this! I'm sure someone in blogger-land will, though. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteThey resemble the wild strawberries in my yard. I always thought the birds brought them. They are small and tasteless. And produce rapidly!
ReplyDeleteWe have these. They're native plants and I planted them years ago. My kids would call them "Fairy Berries." They can easily hitchhike on other plants or possibly a bird brought it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for solving a mystery for me. I found these along my fence line a couple of years ago and have found them in a couple of other spots this spring. Seeing the fruit, I decided they were a wild strawberry, brought by birds. Although they make a nice ground cover, they are VERY invasive. I've been pulling them out.
ReplyDeletehahaha, if invasive they need no further thinking. But if birds love them, then...
ReplyDeleteI'd be afraid they'd take over. But, they are pretty.
ReplyDeleteSue, we had some berries like these growing in a planter on the deck,bbut the used to dry out so quickly. I decided to plant some of them in the garden behind the carport and you should see them now. They have almost taken over, but are easily controlled. Mine have mildly sweet berries like yours do.We gathered the plants years ago while out on a camping trip.
ReplyDeleteI almost posted about these this week! We found some lurking under some weeds in our orchard, but had never seen them here before. The yellow flowers really stood out as strange. We determined the ones here to be Duchesnea indica. They are apparently native to Asia, and are known to have spread into some of the wildland areas here. We pulled ours though as they weren't welcome where they were growing, but they are very pretty.
ReplyDeleteLooks like wild berries my mother in-law gets every year but haven't seen any fruit in a long time. Think you solved the mystery !
ReplyDeleteI would bet these are very invasive, and if they have thorns, I would remove them. I am so tired of fighting wild blackberry vines around here, I would not want another thorny spreading vine!
ReplyDeleteMine look a lot like yours. I, too, have heard they were not edible. I bit into one of ours and found them tasteless & so we haven't eaten them.
ReplyDeleteOurs are VERY invasive. I'm thinking of pulling them out....but they are a pretty groundcover.....
What are YOU going to do????
Those look like what we've always called wild strawberries. I was told years ago they were poisonous; I don't know if that's true, and I'm not interested enough to try them and find out. They're invasive, but not nearly so much as the blackberry vines I fight constantly, and not nearly so annoying.
ReplyDeleteDear Sue, You have a dilemma here, and I will be interested to hear what you decide. If it will be a lot of work to stop them from invading, then maybe you need to let them go, even if the birds do like them. P. x
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments. I haven't decided what to do about the plants. They are in an area where not much else will grow. I should ask the guy who owns the property what he wants me to do, since they are where I garden across the street. I'll let him know what others have said about the plants.
ReplyDelete