Strawberries aren’t just delicious, the whole plant has many medicinal uses, too!

 

Identification:

  • Leaves in groups of three on long stalk, strongly veined and toothed
  • Connected by hairy runners
  • Flowers are white with 5-7 petals
  • Fruits and small hairy strawberry!
  • Looks very similar to wild strawberry and coastal strawberry

 

Ecology:

  • Perennial herb
  • Found in openings and open forests at low to sub-alpine elevations
  • Berries for mid-summer

 

Bird and Pollinator Relationships:

  • Food source for birds, mammals, and pollinators

 

Food and medicine:

  • Popular berry to make into jam, or snacked on straight from the plant. They are too juicy to be dried like some other berries such as Salal
  • Leaves are high in vitamin C and can help keep colds away. They are also high in iron and can be used to treat anemia
  • Tea infusion can help regular menstruation, calm morning sickness, and promote breast milk production

 

Traditional use:

The Saanich and Mainland Comox steeped fresh leaves for tea. Thimbleberry and trailing blackberry leaves were often added. The Quileute chewed the leaves to be applied as a poultice on burns. The Skokomish made tea from the entire plant to treat diarrhea.

 

Threats:

Haida report strawberries being abundant before the introduction of deer.

 

Sources: Boreal Herbal, Beverly Gray; Plants of the Pacific Northwest by Pojar and McKinnon