Wild Strawberry (Potentilla indica): Edible but Tasteless

The common lawn weed called wild strawberry or Indian mock strawberry (Potentilla indica) produces small, red, strawberry-like fruits. They are technically edible but have virtually no flavor—dry and bland.

Identification

• Trifoliate leaves with toothed margins.
• Yellow flowers (true strawberries have white flowers).
• Fruits are round, red, with seeds on the surface, held upright.
• Spreads by stolons (runners) forming dense mats.

Management

Most gardeners consider it a weed. Hand-pull when soil is moist, removing all runners. Improve lawn density to outcompete it. Herbicides labeled for broadleaf weeds in lawns (triclopyr, 2,4-D blends) are effective.

Photos

Don't confuse it with true wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), which has white flowers and delicious fruit.