Strawberries
We have three varieties of strawberry native to coastal British Columbia: woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca), coastal strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis), and wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) and all belong to the Rosaceae (Rose) family. They are perennial plants that spread by runners. The commercial strawberry varieties of today owe their start to Fragaria chiloensis and Fragaria virginiana that were taken to France back in the 1700’s and crossed bred.
The woodland strawberry, sometimes called alpine strawberry, is more shade tolerant than the other two varieties. It has a more pronounced toothed leave edge and its veins are a little more pronounced. The coastal strawberry leaves tend to be a little more rounded than the woodland strawberry and a little thicker. The wild strawberry’s leaves tend to be bluish-green. The woodland strawberry makes a good ground cover in a woodland setting.