Duchesnea indica
Every spring there is a little competition going on among the ground covers in my front yard. Creeping Charlie, Bugleweed, and Mock Strawberries are fighting for their own piece of real estate. By late spring, these low-growing plants are all intertwined in a thick mat of brilliant colors.
Now at the end of May, the mock strawberries are loaded with dark, red fruit, and consequently, they are winning the competition for my eye’s attention. The ripening fruit looks delicious, and beckons the child in me to eat a few. Sadly, even at peak ripeness, the fruits are rather dry and disappointingly tasteless! I guess that’s why they call them “mock” strawberries!
Mock strawberries are not native. They were introduced from Asia as ornamentals, but now that they have spread across the Southeastern US, they are considered weeds. In habit they are much like our native wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana)– the leaves grow in groups of three and have scalloped margins; the plant creeps along the ground by runners and only reaches 2-3 inches in height. Unlike wild strawberries, which have white flowers, the 5-petalled flowers of mock strawberry are yellow.
You’ll notice that the fruit of mock strawberry is covered by tiny red bumps. That’s because the fruit is actually an aggregate of many smaller fruits. Each read “bump” is an “achene”- a tiny fruit containing its own separate seed. Small mammals and birds will spread the seeds when they pick the attractive fruit and take it elsewhere.
Other names for this plant include Indian Strawberry and False Strawberry. Another scientific name is Potentilla indica.
VIRGINIA WILDFLOWERS 
Just wanted to say that I really enjoy reading your posts. They’re always very informative and the photos are beautiful. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge!
Thanks so much for your kind words. I enjoy taking pictures and learning about new plants each time that I go outside. So glad that I can share it with people that appreciate it!
I have a piece of rental property with these growing on a bank mixed in with wild strawberries. We were always told as kids growing up they were snake berries and we’re poisonious. Never questioned it so I told my Tennant the same thing last week. Really enjoy your post, keep up the good work.
Thanks for sharing! I came across the synonym “snake berry” when I was reading up on this plant. From what I’ve read they really are NOT poisonous–they just don’t taste good. Lots of articles said they have medicinal uses too.
Love these little strawberries. I found Moth Mullein 2 weeks ago in Halifax County. A first for me.Â
Oh, moth mullein is really precious! It is so cool when you find something new–sometimes right under your nose! 🙂
I think you and your posts are really so cool too. Super marvelous pictures.
Hello,
I had a Japanese maple that I’ve had since 2011 and I noticed in the past couple years this mock strawberry flower has been migrating all around my Japanese maple it kind of looks nice but this year I noticed that my Japanese maple didn’t even Bloom but it was completely surrounded by that mock strawberry, could it have possibly choked out the roots of the Japanese maple??