Suppose you are walking around your yard and suddenly observe some strawberry-like plants that you have not planted yet. Being inexperienced you may be interested to know how they come here. You become excited at the same appearance of these plants like strawberries. Don’t get fooled. Unfortunately, there’s nothing to be excited about.
You may notice some plants having similar leaves to strawberries, some produce alike fruits, while some have similar characteristics to strawberries. Actually, these plants are quite common plants in lawns although they have a comparable character like strawberries. You won’t get edible berries from them. Most importantly, the plants often get so invasive. They inhibit other plants from growing properly. You should have a clear understanding of what they really are! Pay attention to the intruders and get off them from your lawn immediately.
With this in mind, today, we are gonna talk about the top 5 plants that look like a strawberry plants. Here, you will get the entire concept of these plants. You will also get to know how to recognize actual strawberry plants. Keep reading for more information.
Different Types of Strawberry Plants
Day Neutral Strawberry Plants:
This type of plant has a resemblance to berries so these plants look like strawberries. This kind of strawberry plant has 3 tip periods of fruiting. Conventionally, the strawberries of this type of plant fall in early June, mid-July, and late August. This period of falling makes these fruits outcome with a perfectly spread outcrop. Albion is an example of day-neutral strawberry plants.
Everbearing strawberry plants:
Ever-bearing strawberry plants generally grow on a large portion. The outcome of this type of plant is usually of model size. The strawberries get a perfect shape. Everbearing strawberry plants start to produce when the day is 12 hours long. They start to bear at the start of summer.
June Bearing Strawberry Plants:
Their size is comparatively bigger than other berries. These berries have a generous amount of nutrition too. These plants grow and bear berries from the start of June. But sometimes the bearing can be delayed so they start from mid-June.
Northeaster Strawberry Plants:
These types of plants grow and bear berries early. They start to bear berries from January-February. These plants look like strawberries. They consist genuine amount of nutritious portion. Also, these berries come in large sizes. The berries from Northeaster Strawberry plants are high yield. These plants are also highly resistant to some plant diseases.
Earliglow Strawberry Plants:
The early glow strawberry plants also start to bear berries from the earlier period of the year. The berries start to grow from the starting of the year. These berries are not easily attacked to leaf and root diseases. These berries are the most flavorful among all other berries. They have different kinds of flavors to enjoy.
Difference Between Wild And Mock Strawberries
Wild and Mock Strawberries both grow in the wild or jungles, Though they are different kinds of berries, many people still find it confusing to separate them. They almost look alike but there are vast differences in the flavor of these berries. There are other inner differences too and these differences help to separate them. They are-
Flavors:
These two types of berries have completely different types of flavors. They taste completely different. Wild strawberries are more like garden strawberries but they taste much sweeter. On the other hand, Mock strawberries taste kind of bitter. The taste of mock strawberries is not that pleasant.
Flowers:
The flowers of white strawberry plants come with five white petals. On the contrary, the flowers come with yellow petals. They also come with five petals but the color of these petals is yellow. However, the leaves of the mock strawberry plants are blunter.
Texture:
The berries that come from the wild strawberry plants are juicier. The textures give a fresh vibe. These textures make people greedy to eat them. The juicy texture comes with a sweet flavor. On the contrary, the berries from the mock strawberry plants have a dry and crunchy texture.
Edibility:
The berries from the wild strawberry plants are juicy, sweet, and don’t have an unpleasant taste too. They are much sweeter than garden berries and that’s why they are edible. On the other hand, The berries from the mock strawberry plants consist a bitter taste. This makes them unsuitable for eating. So people avoid eating them.
5 Plants That Look Like Strawberries
1. Norwegian cinquefoil (Potentilla norvegica):
Norwegian cinquefoil is a garden plant of the cinquefoil family that looks like strawberry leaves. They bear flowers that are yellow, not white like strawberries. But they don’t produce fruits or berries. Cinquefoil is often called barren strawberry that produces inedible fruits.
Potentilla norvegica is the scientific name of Norwegian cinquefoil that is a wild plant and often acts like weeds. They sometimes get more invasive to your garden. They bear round-toothed, three-part leaves that are also called trifoliate as strawberry leaves look like. The plants can grow up to 1-3 feet. It is often called a short-lived perennial having a wide tap root that yields a basal rosette of leaves.
The plant has a thick stem that can be green or red. Being 50 cm in height, the stem branches leaves either five leaflets or three leaflets. Each leaflet can be 5 cm in length and is lance-shaped along with toothed verges. The basal leaflets contain thin sharp-tipped stipules whereas top leaflets include elliptical stipules. The plant bears eye-catching yellow-colored flowers where each flower is 4 mm long with 5 round petals. Although it has a similar appearance to strawberries, it is not so but an invasive plant.
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2. Mock strawberry (Duchesnea indica syn. Fragaria indica):
Mock strawberry UK is a wild plant that resembles cultivated strawberries. It looks like a strawberry plant but only differences in flowers. It produces yellow-colored flowers while cultivated strawberry plants bear white flowers. This is the only difference. Thus, sometimes we get confused with this wild plant. This plant is common in wild areas such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, California, etc. It’s a common question: Are mock strawberries poisonous? Actually not. The flowers are bland but not poisonous.
Mock strawberries produce three-part or trifoliate leaves that are round-toothed. The leaves resemble actual strawberry leaves. They carry strawberry-like fruit of red color. These fruits taste bitter. The leaves are attached to a crown of roots that have long petioles. The leaflets are blunt-tipped at the base. Each leaflet can grow ¾–1¾” in length. The upper leaflets are somewhat dark green and have no hair.
Potentilla indica often gets invasive and tough to plant out. If you notice this similar type plant of strawberry, don’t forget to pull out the garden. Generally, they are plants in your garden that grow very fast and hamper other plants to grow well. If you want to keep your yard plant-free, you have to know how to get rid of mock strawberries. They prefer partial sunlight, fertile ground, and moist soil. Don’t let them grow.
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3. Wood strawberry (Fragaria vesca):
Wood strawberry is also called California strawberry as it is quite common in California. It is well-known as the parent to cultivate strawberries. It has a thick stem from where the leaves spread out. The leaves are light-green and trifoliate with round-toothed leaves. The plant has a green soft hairy stalk that can be 3-15 cm in height. The stalk carries about 5-11 white-colored hairy flowers. The blooms often have the yellow center to the white petals.
Although the flowers look marvelous but act like plants.
Some plants of Fragaria vesca often produce fruits that have a good taste. But the wild plants bear bland or bitter fruits. The plant grows through runners or stolons. It can be 6-12 inches in height. The blooming season is between April to June. The berries are good-tasting and egg-shaped to conic. It has a slender stem that produces a cluster of 2-5 flowers. The blooms have 5 round white petals with yellow stripes.
For growing, the plant needs partial sunlight, average to moist soils, fertile ground, woods, and thickets. Actually, it is a poisonous plant that looks like strawberries. Don’t let the plants grow invasive in your garden. Nowadays, wood strawberries are being widely used as a groundcover.
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4. Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana):
Wild strawberry, a strawberry-like plant, is known as a parent of the cultivated strawberry plant. They are found in the United States, United Kingdom, California, Canada, or other wooded areas. They grow best in woodlands. The plant has several names according to its growing place including Virginia strawberry, common strawberry, or mountain strawberry. It can be 4 to 6 inches tall and typically carries multiple leaves.
The leaves of the plant are trifoliate, oval-shaped, and round-toothed in appearance. The upper surface of the leaflets is green whereas the lowest surfaces are pale green. The leaflets are arranged beautifully in the thick stem when each leaflet measures 3 inches in length and 1.5 inches in width. The stalk of the plant bears numerous eye-catching flowers that are white and five-petaled. There are yellow stripes on the white blooms making them more attractive.
The plant bears fruits named wild strawberries that are edible but not as sweet as cultivated strawberries. The strawberry-like fruits are red and flavorful. In most cases, the fruits are consumed as a substitute for modern strawberries. The plant demands sunny or dry locations for growing. They prefer partial sunlight and fertile moist soil. The plant often bears berries named “Little Scarlets” that are widely consumed in Great Britain and the United States.
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5. Fragaria x ananassa:
Fragaria x ananassa is another type of strawberry-like plant that comes from the flowering plant family named Rosaceae. The plant is a good substitute for modern classy strawberries thus it is often called cultivated strawberries. It is popular in different countries like the United States, Asia, Europe, and other woodlands. It is an ornamental plant that seems like a strawberry plant as it bears the same leaves and fruits as strawberries.
The plant from the rose family contains a thick stem to arrange a cluster of leaves. The leaflets are arranged elegantly with round-toothed and trifoliate characteristics. Each leaflet has a length and width of respectively 3 and 1.5 inches.
The bearing fruits resemble strawberry-like fruits. The fruits are good-tasting and are sold at a greater amount. You can cultivate these plants in your yard with partial sunlight, moist soil, and low temperature.
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How To Recognize Strawberry Plants
We have love with strawberries but we should be aware of plants resembling strawberry plants. Don’t judge the plant only by observing its appearance. Various weeds look like strawberries plants. So, identifying the real ones is very important as the plant are poisonous and cause damage to other plants.
Know the shape of the real strawberry plant:
Strawberry, the perennial plant that usually thrives in USDA Zone 3 to 11. It contains leaves only at the lowermost part of the plant. Each stem carries three leaflets, whereas the verges are serrated. It bears flowers of white colors with 5-8 petals. The blooms are generally oval-shaped. It produces palatable good-tasting fruits called strawberries. The fruits are red-colored and hearth-shaped. The plant grows via runners or offshoots.
Telling the plants apart:
Before eating anything we should know what we are going to eat. Plant strawberry plants can be poisonous. So, you should pay attention to it. You can choose the right one knowing one thing. Most plant strawberry plants like mock strawberries have hairless leaves whereas cultivated strawberries have hairy leaves.
Look at the flowers the plant bears. Cultivated strawberries yield white flowers while plant strawberry plants produce yellow-colored blooms. They almost have the same appearance but not the actual ones. Keep closer attention to the fruit also and observe whether it is hairy or hairless.
Conclusion:
You may get various strawberry-like plants alongside your garden. Don’t get wrong with these plants. Although they have a similar appearance to strawberries, they are actually poisonous.
With this in mind, we come here with the top 5 plants that look like strawberry plants. Know their characteristics and tell them apart.
