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Fragaria vesca 'Semperflorens'

Fragaria vesca 'Semperflorens': Plant
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Fragaria vesca 'Semperflorens': Fruit
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Common name:	Alpine Strawberry	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Fragaria alpina (Hort.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Most of Europe, including Britain, to temperate Asia.
Habitat:	Woodland and damp undergrowth[7].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	5	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	semperflorens = always flowering vesca = little
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m by 0.25m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to November, and the seeds ripen from June to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). We rate it 5/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Cultivar 'White': Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Coffee Fruit Leaves Tea.

Fruit - raw, cooked or made into preserves[183]. Sweet and succulent with an exquisite taste, they are far superior to the cultivated strawberry[K]. The fruit is fairly small, up to 15mm in diameter, but it is produced abundantly from early summer until the frosts of autumn[K].
Young leaves - raw or cooked[52, 105]. Added to salads or used as a potherb[183].
The fresh or dried leaves are used as a tea substitute[7, 177, 183].
The root has been used as a coffee substitute in India[240].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent Diuretic Laxative Tonic.

The leaves and the fruit are astringent, diuretic, laxative and tonic[4, 9, 222]. The leaves are mainly used, though the fruits are an excellent food to take when feverish and are also effective in treating rheumatic gout[4]. A slice of strawberry is also excellent when applied externally to sunburnt skin[4]. A tea made from the leaves is a blood tonic[222]. It is used in the treatment of chilblains[53] and also as an external wash on sunburn[222]. The leaves are harvested in the summer and dried for later use[238].
The fruits contain salicylic acid and are beneficial in the treatment of liver and kidney complaints, as well as in the treatment of rheumatism and gout[244].
The roots are astringent and diuretic[4, 222]. A decoction is used internally in the treatment of diarrhoea and chronic dysentery[4, 244]. Externally it is used to treat chilblains and as a throat gargle[244]. The roots are harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[238].

Other Uses

Compost Teeth.

The flowers are an alternative ingredient of 'Quick Return' herbal compost activator[32]. This is a dried and powdered mixture of several herbs that can be added to a compost heap in order to speed up bacterial activity and thus shorten the time needed to make the compost[K].
The fruit is used as a tooth cleaner[4]. The fresh fruit removes stains from teeth if it is allowed to remain for about 5 minutes[4].
The fruit is also used cosmetically in skin-care creams[7]. It tones and whitens the skin, combats wrinkles, lightens freckles, soothes sunburn and whitens the teeth[244].

Cultivation details

Prefers a fertile, well-drained, moisture retentive soil in a sunny position[27, 200]. Tolerates semi-shade though fruit production will be reduced when plants are growing in such a position. Prefers some shade according to some reports[3, 31]. Plants are often found on clay soils[31] and on soils overlying chalk[13].
Alpine strawberries appreciate a mulch of pine or spruce leaves[18].
The alpine strawberry is often cultivated in the garden for its edible fruit. This fruit is fairly small but exquisitely flavoured and is freely produced from June to November. There are some named varieties[183]. It is not very feasible to grow this plant on a commercial scale because it is very labour intensive to pick and it is also hard to get the fruit to market in good quality. However, it is sometimes grown by specialised growers for the luxury market.
The main drawback of growing this plant is that it tends to lose vigour after about 2 - 3 years, partly due to virus diseases and partly because the plant flowers and fruits so freely that it exhausts itself.

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. The seed can take 4 weeks or more to germinate. The seedlings are very small and slow-growing at first, but then grow rapidly. Prick them out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out during the summer.

Cultivars

'White': The small white fruit has an excellent mild sweet flavour and is not as acid as the red-fruited forms[183]. The fruit's colour makes it less attractive to birds]183].

Suppliers

Plants For A Future is working with the following groups to try and make these plants easily available. Parts of the proceeds will be donated to so please mention us when ordering.

Cool Temperate Nurseries: 10 Ivy Grove
Nottingham
NG7 7LZ
Email: philcorbett53@hotmail.com
Phone 0115 847 8302 Fax 0115 847 8302
Distribution: UK
How to order: Direct from Cool Temperate by email/phone
Notes: Many Trees supplied on their own rootstock
Last Updated: April 03
Item: Fragaria vesca (Wild strawberry)
Item: Fragaria (Chillean Strawberry)

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[3] Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles 1972 ISBN 0-7153-5531-7
A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[31] Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.

[32] Bruce. M. E. Commonsense Compost Making. Faber 1977 ISBN 0-571-09990-4
Excellent little booklet dealing with how to make compost by using herbs to activate the heap. Gives full details of the herbs that are used.

[52] Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980
A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.

[53] De. Bray. L. The Wild Garden.
Interesting reading.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

Readers Comments

Fragaria vesca 'Semperflorens'

Steve Harris (root@netservs.com) Mon Nov 18 03:14:18 2002

"The fruits contain salicylic acid and are beneficial in the treatment of liver and kidney complaints, as well as in the treatment of rheumatism and gout[244]. "

I don't think so. Salicylic acid and it's salts are containdicated in gout because they inhibit excretion of uric acid.

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