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Every week there are new marvels to look for in the outdoors, and Discover Nature highlights these attractions. The Missouri Department of Conservation’s Josh Hartwig brings us the stories of river otters, luna moths, red buds, and other actors as they take center stage in nature’s theater.You can hear Discover Nature, Mondays at 7:42 a.m. and 5:18 p.m.

Discover Nature: Wild Strawberries

Missouri Department of Conservation.
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KRCU

Discover nature this week and find some wild strawberry blooms.

Wild strawberries will be in bloom from April to May and the berries can be collected beginning in May through June. This plant’s berries and leaves are in high demand by people and animals alike.
The berries, sometimes sweet and sometimes tart, are a favorite of many and can be used to make jams, shortcakes and syrups. When the leaves begin to dry in August, they’re perfect picking for wild strawberry tea, rich in vitamin C.

The wild strawberry ranges from the size of a pea to the size of a thumb, and is eaten by birds, possums, skunks, chipmunks, the Meadow Vole, White-footed Mouse, and Eastern Box Turtle, and the leaves are a common food for the Eastern Cottontail, White-tailed Deer, and several insect species.

Strawberry plants are also excellent cover for small animals throughout the Spring and Summer. Toads, salamanders, centipedes, spiders, and many insects can crawl and hide among the leaves.

As you search for wild strawberries, watch out for poison ivy, as wild strawberry plants will grow alongside many other plants. The important thing is to identify what you’re looking for.

Wild Strawberry is a common creeping plant that grows just about anywhere. It can grow up to six inches tall, and its leaves are split into three leaflets measuring 1 to one and a half inches long.

Creeping plants, like strawberries, have runners which are stems that grow sideways on the surface of the soil. As the runners grow, they send up new strawberry plants.

To keep track of current natural events like when to look for blooming wild strawberries you can get your own Natural Events Calendar from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Candice Davis is the former host of Discover Nature on KRCU. Her goal is to help people to discover nature and learn to appreciate the many outdoor opportunities Missouri has to offer. Candice knows that people who spend time in the outdoors are generally less stressed, more thankful, healthier and more successful in life. Children who spend time outdoors have better grades and are more physically active. It’s Candice’s goal to inspire Missourians to discover nature in their everyday lives through stories of butterflies, elk, tupelo trees, alligator gar and other marvels of nature on KRCU’s Discover Nature program.
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