Native American Herbal, Plant Knowledge

Wild strawberries are smaller than the ones you

buy in the supermarket. Those have been bred to be

huge, tough against mechanical picking and

packing, and to survive weeks between picking,

shipping around the country, and store-cooler

purchase. They are rather tasteless compared to

small, fragrant, wild berries, which are red clear

through, sweet, juicy and indescribably delicious.

They are probably much higher in natural vitamin

C and other vitamins and minerals, too. In some

aras, plants keep producing a few green leaves

throughout the winter.

Strawberry Fruit and Leaf nutrients/chemicals table from

USDA Ethnobotany Informatics (AGIS) database

Wild strawberries can be cultivated in gardens (if the soil and sun are righrt for them)

and are sold in classy food stores in major cities for $25/lb. Dig the whole plant, with a

soil ball around its roots (after the berries are gone) if you want to try gardening

them.

In gathering berry leaves for teas, be aware that a poisonous compound develops in

the leaves of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and others after the leaves begin

to wilt, soften and curl. Either make teas right after the green leaves are picked or dry

them thoroughly in shade (indoors, don't use the oven!) for about 2 weeks until they

are crumbly -- the toxins (poisons) will all be gone then. Crumble them in your hands

and store in airtight jars in a dark place. Use a teaspoonful of dried leaves per cup of

boiling water poured over.

To make an extract of fresh leaves, pack them into a blender, cover with water and

blend at slow speed in bursts, just to cut them up fine, not mush it. Put this leafy soup

into a pan , bring to a boil, simmer 15 minutes. Leave the choipped leaves in the water

for a day in a cool place, thn strain it. By then, the vitamin C (leaves have 4.5 times

more of it per unit weight than oranges) which is water-soluble will have passed into

the water. If you have a herbal juicer, a gadget sold in some health food dstores, you

won't need to boil it and will destroy less of its vitamin and mineral content.

Strawberries-- ID, annotations

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