Woodland plants · Fragaria vesca
Discover wild strawberry
A tiny red fruit beneath three leaflets: Puschel spots a wild strawberry. Flauschi reminds him to look at unknown fruit without tasting it.
The short answer
A wild strawberry leaf has three toothed leaflets. White flowers with yellow centres can later form small red fruits. We compare several features and do not eat unknown woodland fruits.
See the connection
Simplified drawings, not to scale. Not a guide for identifying species.
An imagined Wusel scene
Puschel and Flauschi investigate
Puschel spots a red fruit below three little leaflets. Flauschi reminds him: Flauschi“In Wusel Knowledge we only look.”
Puschel notices the tiny achenes on the outside of the red fruit. Puschel“Lots of little dots on one little strawberry!” Flauschi looks for a white flower nearby. They compare fruit and flower from the path; both stay on the plant.
Plant clues
Three things to notice
Three leaflets
One leaf has three toothed leaflets.
White flower
The flowers are white with yellow centres.
Small red fruit
Small red fruits can appear later.
Mini quiz
What do you remember?
1. Which parts make one wild-strawberry leaf?
Choose one answer: a), b) or c).
- a)Five leaflets
- b)One undivided leaf
- c)Three leaflets
Show answer
Correct answer: c): Three leaflets Three leaflets
2. Where are the tiny fruits, each holding a seed, on a wild strawberry?
Choose one answer: a), b) or c).
- a)Inside a hard stone
- b)In a core
- c)Outside on the red fruit
Show answer
Correct answer: c): Outside on the red fruit Outside on the red fruit
Word help
- toothed
- The edge has little points like tiny teeth. A leaf has no real teeth.
- runner
- A spreading stem from which new plants can grow at suitable points.
Explore in more detail
Here you will find longer explanations and further details. You can explore them together.
How do new strawberry plants form?
A wild strawberry can send long, thin stems across the ground. These are runners. Small new plants can root at suitable points along them. This is reproduction without seeds. At first, a new plant remains connected to its parent by the runner.
Compare and understand
There are also seeds inside the tiny nut-like fruits on the red surface. Runners and seeds are two different ways of reproducing. Follow a visible runner with your eyes only. A small red fruit alone cannot establish safe identification; adults select edible fruit.