Now that the weather is starting to improve (I say this generally and try to ignore the extremely offensive appearance of very late snowflakes) it is easier to get outside on a daily basis. Even though I am staying very close to home, this business of “daily outdoors” is a real treat for me. My six-acre lot has open lawn, thickets, a wet meadow and woods to explore and I have done my best to take the advice given to us by the great naturalist, John Burroughs: “The walk you take today through the fields and woods, or along the river-bank, is the walk you should take tomorrow, and next day, and next. What you miss once, you will hit upon next time.”
This is sage advice from an old master, and it is particularly valuable at this time of the year because things are changing so quickly. Where yesterday there was nothing to see, today may reveal a new treasure that will delight you to your core. Even more important is the idea that tomorrow it may be gone again. Every day counts and every day is important.
So it was a genuine delight for me to notice that the grassy areas at the edges of the thickets are starting to bloom with flowers. Dandelions are the easiest to notice from a distance, but a slightly closer inspection reveals the presence of wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana). These small wildflowers thrive in the habitat that my mowing activities have produced and the appearance of these flowers is just another indicator that spring has really sprung.
The term “wild” strawberry is a bit problematic because there are actually many different species of strawberries that grow wild. Furthermore, there is always the chance that a cultivated strawberry plant will “escape” from gardens, or farms and grow “wild.” This is a particularly interesting notion because F. virginiana is actually one of the species from which the “domestic” strawberry came from. Through the process of artificial selection (and then even genetic engineering) the gigantic strawberries that we use in our kitchens had somewhat more humble beginnings.
The wild strawberry is a small plant that grows low to the ground and propagates largely by way of “runners.” Basically, these are stems of the plant that grow horizontal to the ground and put out roots every 2-3 inches. Once the roots take hold, the new plants will send up leaves and eventually produce flowers and fruits. Once the new plant is established, the runner can be severed without damaging the “parent” or the “offspring.” The key point to remember is that all of the plants that are propagated in this fashion are clones of the original.
The flowers are quite lovely. Five white petals spread out in a blossom that is roughly the size of a nickel. The sumptuous golden center of the flower is the product of the stamens that produce pollen. This makes wild strawberries extremely valuable for pollinating insects early in the spring and bees of all kinds may be found busily buzzing among the numerous flowers that grow very low to the ground.
Later in the summer, when the flowers are long gone, the plants will produce small, sweet and extremely delicious berries. It is impossible to accurately state just how important these plants are as a source of food for wild animals. Crows, catbirds, small mammals, box turtles and so many other species may gobble up the berries as quickly as they appear and I must say that I see the flowers far more often than I actually lay eyes on the berries. On the rare occasion that I find a berry I pop it in my mouth without hesitation and savor the flavor. There’s a reason we invested so much time in making the berries larger for mass consumption by humans!
If you are able to take the same walk day after day, then you may also find that you are finding wild strawberry flowers growing in lawns and low places near roads. Make note of the position of these flowers and keep monitoring them to see if any actual berries show up later in the year. Odds are that you won’t find many of the berries because the birds will gobble them up with great relish, but you might get lucky and find a gorgeous, deep red berry about the size of a large blueberry. Take a photo because a sweet treat like that won’t last long.
Bill Danielson has been a professional writer and nature photographer for 22 years. He has worked for the National Park Service, the US Forest Service and the Massachusetts State Parks and currently teaches high school biology and physics. Visit www.speakingofnature.com for more information, or go to Speaking of Nature on Facebook.