Fragaria vesca – Baron Solemacher or Alpine Strawberry seeds x100

This edible, cold tolerant strawberry is known to have been harvested and eaten by stone-age man, traded from Europe along the Silk Road into Asia and is one of the parents of today’s modern Strawberry.

Its habitat is widespread being the woods and grasslands of Europe, Western Asia, North America and temperate Chile. The word straw in strawberry comes from the verb ‘strew’, a reference to the tangle of runners with which the plant covers the ground. 

A small herbaceous perennial growing 10-25cm high with a spread to 30cm. The leaves are long stalked with three coarsely-toothed leaflets. The flowers are round petalled, flat clustered and on a separate stalk to the leaves. The fruit are small, scarlet, cone shaped berries studded with tiny brown seeds (achenes). They have a fragrance and taste more delicate that today’s larger, cultivated varieties.

All parts of this plant have long been used medicinally. The root was a popular remedy for diarrhea and the stalks for wounds. Recently discovered antioxidant properties in the fruit make it a candidate for cancer research.  The gently astringent leaves can be used to make a tea for diarrhea, digestive upset  and to stimulate appetite. Also, the leaves combined with St John’s wort and meadow sweet are used for mild arthritic pain and with celery seed for gout. On top of all that, the leaves are a good source of vitamin C and can be used fresh or dried.

Offered is a packet of 100 seeds and Grownotes to assist you to cultivate this ancient food plant.

All my seed is posted in bubble wrap protection.