Family: Rosaceae, Rose view all from this family
Description A low plant connected to others by runners, at least when young, often growing in patches, with white flowers on stalks slightly shorter than leaves.
Flowers: About 3/4" (2 cm) wide; sepals 5, pointed, alternating with 5 smaller bracts; petals 5, broadly ovate, each with a short stalk at base; stamens many.
Leaves: Compound, with 3 leaflets, each 3/4-2" (2-5 cm) long, broad, leathery, toothed at end, shiny dark green above, hairy and grayish below, on stalk 2-8" (5-20 cm) long.
Fruit: Berry, 1/2-3/4" (1.5-2 cm) wide, enlarging from a cone-shaped flower center with many pistils.
Height: Creeper; flower stalks 2-8" (5-20 cm).
Flower March-August.
Habitat Coastal dunes and bluffs.
Range Alaska south along Pacific Coast through northern two-thirds of California.
Discussion The word strawberry comes from the Anglo-Saxon streawberige, referring to the berries "strewing" their runners out over the ground. This plant also grows in South America; Chilean plants of this species were the parents in the production of hybrid domestic strawberries. Several species of wild strawberries in the West strongly resemble Beach Strawberry but have thin leaflets.
