≡ Menu

Wild Strawberry

Ootsistsíín – Fragaria sp. (Mouth roof berries, Real people berries)

 

Wild Strawberries are really tasty but don't eat too many! They can be found in moist, scrubby patches, aspen poplar groves, roadside ditches and wooded ravines.

Wild Strawberries are really tasty but don’t eat too many! They can be found in moist, scrubby patches, aspen poplar groves, roadside ditches and wooded ravines.

Ootsistsíín

Ootsistsiin iitaisaisskiiyaw otsitotsikahkohpi. Otsitssawomaisaisskihpi omi miini aiksikkapistsiskitsi pisatssaisski. Mo aksiksitokahki Iisamssootamstaa ki Niipommahkatoyiiksistsikomiaato’si omi maohkinattsi miini iitaomatapssaisski. I’kammstawa’pssiinik kahkitohtohkoossaa miinomaiskaowatotaa, kitakohtssapioohs. Ihtaiksistsikimisstao’p iihtaotoitsikato’p akitaisaipioohso’p.

Wild Strawberry

Fragaria sp. Galileo Educational Network

Fragaria sp.
Galileo Educational Network

You can look for Wild Strawberry plants in moist, scrubby patches, aspen poplar groves, roadside ditches and wooded ravines. Before the berries come, the plant has white five-petalled flowers with a yellow center. The flowers are about 2 cm across and appear in May and June. The leaves are dark green and egg-shaped, about 7 cm wide and are grouped around the stems. The small,red,juicy berries start to ripen at the end of June and into July.

If you were lucky enough to find wild strawberries and you ate lots and lots of them, you might fine you have diarrhea. But making a tea of the roots helps cure diarrhea! Wild strawberries don’t dry well, so it is best to eat them fresh and enjoy the taste of summer!

A weak tea of the leaves can also be used for soothing sore eyes. A stronger tea of leaves can be taken as a daily tonic as it has lots of vitamin C.

Fraisier des champs

Fragaria sp. Galileo Educational Network

Fragaria sp.
Galileo Educational Network

Le fraisier des champs pousse dans les endroits humides, les broussailles, les bosquets de peupliers faux-trembles, les fossés et les ravins boisés. Avant l’arrivée des fraises, des fleurs blanches à cinq pétales et au centre jaune apparaissent. Ces fleurs mesurent environ 2 centimètres de diamètre et elles sortent en mai et en juin. Ses feuilles vert foncé ont la forme d’un oeuf. Elles mesurent environ 7 centimètres de large et poussent tout autour des tiges. Les petits fruits rouges et juteux mûrissent de la fin juin au mois de juillet.

Les personnes qui mangent de grandes quantités de fraises peuvent avoir la diarrhée! Par contre, le thé aux racines de fraisier aide à soulager cette diarrhée! Les fraises des champs ne sont pas des fruits qui sèchent bien. Il vaut donc mieux les manger quand elles sont fraîches et profiter de ce goût estival!

Un thé faible de feuilles de fraisier peut aussi permettre de soulager les yeux endoloris. Plus fort, il peut servir de tonique à consommer tous les jours parce qu’il contient beaucoup de vitamine C.

Fragaria sp. Galileo Educational Network

Fragaria sp.
Galileo Educational Network

  • Hellson, John C. (1974). Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada.
  • Kerik, Joan. (1979). Living With The Land: Use of Plants by the Native People Of Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta: Provincial Museum of Alberta.
  • Mountain Horse, Mike. (1979). My People The Bloods. Calgary, Alberta: Glenbow Museum.
  • Moerman, Daniel E. (1998). Native American Ethnobotany. Portland: Timber Press.
  • Tilford, Gregory. (1997). Edible and Medicinal Plants Of The West. Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company.
  • Vance, F.R., Jowsley, J.R. & Mclean, J.S. (1984). Wildflowers Across The Prairies. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Western Producer Prairie Books.
This project was created with the professional development leadership and resources of the Galileo Educational Network