The wild strawberry is widespread in the temperate latitudes of Eurasia and grows abundantly in light forests and on the edges of forests. The fruits are sweet and have a very aromatic taste. They are best eaten raw. When cooked, e.g. for the production of compote and jam, the seeds give off bitter substances after some time, which is why wild strawberries alone do not make a good jam. They are better mixed with other fruits. The young leaves can be used as caffeine-free black tea substitutes.

The perpetual strawberry is a cultivation from the wild strawberry with larger fruits, which are known since the 18th century in France under the name “Fressant”. In contrast to the wild strawberries, these often no longer reproduce through Stolone.

The wild strawberry can be confused with the equally edible, but bland tasting mock strawberry.

• Edible Fruits Leaves
• Type of Fruit Aggregate fruit
• Culinary Group Wild fruits Stimulants
• Taste sweet (fruits) tart (leaves)
• Trivial Names Wald-Erdbeere, Walderdbeere, Monatserdbeere, Buscherdbeere, Wild strawberry, Woodland strawberry, Alpine strawberry, Carpathian Strawberry, European strawberry, Fraisier des bois, Fraisier commun, Fraisier sauvage
• Size (single fruit) 1 cm
• Taxonomy Rosaceae (Rose family) Fragaria vesca
• Origin Eurasia: Europe, Skandinavia, Siberia, Eurasian Steppe, East-Asia (Map)
• Locality Wissenschaftsgarten Frankfurt (FRG) 2018