Wild strawberries can be found in their natural wild environment, but they can also be cultivated. They prefer moist, fertile soils. They grow in forests and glades – most often in sun-lit road edges.
Wild strawberry is a small perennial which is from 5 to 20 cm tall. Forest varieties have many thin and long runners. The leaves are trifoliate. The flowers are small, white and there are from 3 to 10 flowers on a stalk. The fruits are much smaller than those of strawberries. They are red, juicy and sweet.
These small fruits are most often processed into juice, cold soups, cake ingredients, and alcoholic beverages. Wild strawberries (but only the ones which grow in the wild) are broadly used in therapeutics: they improve immunity, have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, block the absorption of bad cholesterol, and dissolve calculus.