American Woodland Strawberry
Fragaria vesca subsp. americana
Found in dry rocky woodlands, boulderfields, fields, roadsides, clearings. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not scored
Native status: sources disagree, under review. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- Up to about 10 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to June
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 4 West Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 3
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
70CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Fragaria
- Abagrotis alternataGreater Red Dart, Mottled Grey Cutworm
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Acrolophus arcanellaGrass Tubeworm Moth
- Acrolophus plumifrontellaEastern Grass Tubeworm
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Amphipyra pyramidoidesMiranda Underwing, Copper Underwing, Copper Amphipyra
- Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
- Ancylis floridanaStrawberry Leafroller
Show all 70
- Ancylis muricanaRed-Headed Ancylis
- Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
- Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
- Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
- Celypha nr.Celypha Moth
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
- Choristoneura obsoletanaObsolete Leafroller
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Clepsis peritanaGarden Tortrix
- Clepsis persicanaWhite Triangle Tortrix
- Coelostathma discopunctanaThe Batman Moth
- Diaphania hyalinataMelonworm Moth
- Dichomeris juncidellaOrange-Dotted Dichomeris
- Dysstroma citrataDark Marbled Carpet
- Dysstroma truncataMarbled Carpet
- Eucirroedia pampinaScalloped Sallow
- Eueretagrotis attentusAttentive Dart
- Eueretagrotis perattentusTwo-Spot Dart
- Eupsilia morrisoniMorrison's Sallow
- Eupsilia tristigmataThree-Spotted Sallow, Brown Fruitworm
- Euxoa detersaRubbed Dart, Sandhill Cutworm
- Euxoa messoriaReaper Dart, Darksided Cutworm, Dark-Sided Cutworm
- Feltia herilisMaster's Dart
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia subgothicaSubgothic Dart
- Geina tenuidactylaHimmelman's Plume Moth
- Haploa colonaColona Moth
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Heliothis phloxiphagaSpotted Straw Sun Moth, Darker Spotted Straw Moth
- Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
- Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Lacanobia subjunctaSpeckled Arches, Subdues Arches, Harnessed Mamestra, Speckled Cutworm Moth, Grand Arches?(incorrectly)
- Lacinipolia loreaBridled Arches, Bridle Groundcat
- Lobocleta ossulariaDrab Brown Wave
- Malacosoma americanaEastern Tent Caterpillar
- Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Monochroa absconditellaStrawberry Crown Miner
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
- Nephelodes miniansBronzed Cutworm
- Olethreutes olivaceanaOlivaceous Olethreutes
- Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
- Polia purpurissataPurple Arches
- Proxenus mirandaMiranda Moth, Glistening Rustic
- Pyrgus centaureaeGrizzled Skipper
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth
- Spaelotis clandestinaClandestine Dart, W-Marked Cutworm
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Xanthotype sospetaCrocus Geometer
- Xestia smithiiSmith's Dart
- Xenotemna pallorana
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Fragaria
- Andrena melanochroa
14BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Fragaria
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Catharus fuscescensVeery
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Cyanocitta stelleriSteller's Jay
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Melanerpes erythrocephalusRed-headed Woodpecker
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
Show all 14
- Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Flower color
- White
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 10 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Fragaria vesca ssp. americana; Fragaria vesca subsp. americana
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T5 [G5] |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- West Virginia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications