The red berries in grass might be one of two possible varieties that appear on different parts of your lawn or grass. You might have seen them before and wondered if they were strawberries growing in the yard.
What exactly are these fascinating objects? This article will provide you with complete information about the red berries in grass as presented by experts.
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What Are the Little Red Berries in My Yard?
The red berries in your grass might be Fragaria vesca or Fragaria virginiana, which appear just like strawberries. The main difference in their appearance is that the red berries in grass are much smaller and have a deeper red color than actual strawberries.
Some also suggest that the tiny strawberries in yard are sweeter and this might be attributed to their smaller size. If you have ever asked the question, “What are the little berries in my yard?” then this section will enlighten you on everything that you need to know.
The small wild strawberries in yard might be either one of two common types, which are Fragaria vesca, known as the woodland strawberry, or Fragaria virginiana, also known as the common strawberry. Both types of wild berries ripen in early summer, just like the more popular domesticated berries. The mother plants of the little red berries in yard produce white flowers that grow on the stems. The wild strawberries are then produced from the flowers during late spring so that they ripen at the beginning of summer.
The little berries grow in clusters, touching the ground as their mother plants are very small. The compound leaves of the mother plant appear fuzzy.
– Areas of Existence
The common strawberry occupies much of the border area between the northern parts of the United States and Canada. This type of strawberry sometimes grows in the wetlands, though this is not a common occurrence.
The woodland strawberry is native to most parts of the United States of America. You will mostly find it in the regions between the Midwest and the East Coast, stretching towards the north and into Canada. You will never find the woodland strawberry in wetlands.
– Reproduction
The mother plants for the red berries in grass are perennial, so they reseed themselves such that new plants appear every spring. These seeds grow into plants that can produce more wild strawberry fruits, with more seeds that are ready to be dispersed.
For the plants of the wild strawberries to reproduce, they form roots at the points where the stems of the leaves touch those of the main plant. As time progresses, the plant will become strongly rooted, growing parallel to the ground. The plant will then produce a cluster of wild strawberries that create a ground cover for a couple of years.
It is interesting to note that most of the strawberries that are now popular on the market were created through hybridization procedures of these wild varieties.
Beneficial Purposes
The red berries that grow on the ground are tasty, so they are eaten by a lot of people. Even birds, insects and other small animals feed on these wild berries. The white flowers of the wild strawberry plants provide nectar for butterflies, flies, bees and ants. These insects also act as pollinators for the berry plants.
The leaves of the wild red berry plant are food to various animals such as Eastern chipmunks, white-tailed deer, Eastern box turtles, opossums, cottontail rabbits and striped skunks. On the other hand, the berry fruits are food to wild turkeys, sparrows and blue jays. These animals also play a crucial role in dispersing the seeds of the red berries that grow on the ground, which are too heavy to be carried from one place to another by the wind.
Health Benefits
The better part of it all is that these berries are packed with medicinal and pharmacological properties that are linked to positive health benefits. The wild berries are rich in plant compounds that are known as antioxidants. These compounds are capable of scavenging the dangerous free radicals that can disrupt the functionality of your vital organs.
Free radicals are produced by natural processes in your body. Normally, your body has a robust antioxidant system that removes these free radicals from your body. However, there are times when the free radicals in your body are produced at a rate that is faster than the one at which they are removed by your body’s antioxidant system. In this case, the free radicals will accumulate and cause damage.
Fruits such as berries assist your natural antioxidant system to deal with the free radicals. This helps to reduce your risk of suffering from diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diseases that are associated with brain degeneration. The risk of these diseases is worsened by the presence of free radicals.
Taming the Strawberries Growing in the Yard
The little red berries in the yard grow on their own in your home, but it is possible to tame these plants and grow them in your garden. If you look at the plant, you will realize that there are individual wild berry plants that grow along the stem network. Identify these and dig them up so that you can take them with as many roots as possible. This procedure does not negatively affect the growth, survival and reproduction of the mother plant.
Make sure to move your plant to a spot where its conditions for growth are similar to those of the mother plant. This way, the new plant will quickly adapt to its new environment and grow with little disturbance. The new spot that you choose should allow the plant to access either full or partial sunlight. The tamed plant will thrive well if the soil on which you grow it is nutritionally rich and well-draining.
Your new berry plant will need a lot of moisture, especially as it approaches the flowering and fruiting stages. You should, therefore, give the plant more water during this time.
Getting Rid of the Wild Red Berries
The easiest way to get rid of the wild red berries is to pull the mother plant off the ground and discard it. You can also spray the plants using liquid killers that target broad-leaved weeds in lawns. It’s not always the case that you would want to keep the small red berries in grass on your property once you find out their existence, so there are ways to get rid of them if that’s your best choice.
Natural weed killers that are based on acetic or citric acid is also a viable option. There are other chemicals that contain chelated iron to kill the wild berry plants, which are also highly effective. The chemicals with chelated iron do not kill the grass alongside the targeted berry plants.
Remember to repeatedly treat the area where the small wild berries were growing to make sure that they don’t grow back. You can even add mulch to stop any remaining seeds from sprouting again. Weed preventers such as Preen and corn gluten meal also come in handy in ensuring long-term destruction of the wild berry plant, if used for at least a year.
Other Helpful Information
Explore this section to get the answers to some of the burning questions that you have.
Can I Eat the Strawberries Growing in the Yard?
Yes. Apart from the commercially available berries, there are other wild berries that are also edible. Among these edible wild berries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries are the easiest to identify. The easy identification of these berries is attributed to the unavailability of many look-alikes that derail authentication of the fruits. Therefore, they are safe to pick and they are palatable, even more than some commercially available berries.
How Can I Determine Whether a Berry Is Poisonous or Not?
Identifying poisonous berries mainly depends on assessing their colors, so stay away from berries that have yellow, white and green colors because these are usually poisonous. Other indications that a berry should not be eaten by humans include the presence of spines and spurs on the fruit. If the berries produce sap that is either odd-colored or milky, they are poisonous.
Available information shows that 90 percent of yellow and white berries are deadly if consumed, and approximately half of the known red berries are toxic for human consumption. Blackberries, raspberries, salmonberries and other aggregate berries are 99 percent edible, while most of the known blue or blackberries are safe for consumption.
Conclusion
After reading this guide, you now have all the information that you need to know concerning those red berries in grass. Let’s have a quick recap of the main points once more:
- Red berries in grass appear like strawberries, just that the former is smaller, sweeter and has a deeper red color.
- There are two types of common wild berries. These are the Fragaria virginiana, which is the common strawberry, and the Fragaria vesca, which is the woodland strawberry.
- These berries are native to the United States of America and parts of Canada.
- The red berries reproduce through seeds.
- These berries are food to humans, wild turkeys, blue jays and birds.
- The leaves are eaten by animals such as white-tailed deer, opossums and cottontail rabbits.
- The red berries in grass have antioxidant qualities, which helps reduce the risk of diseases such as heart disease, strokes and some cancers.
- It is possible to tame the red berries in grass as long as you can provide it with conducive conditions of sunlight and soil.
- You can destroy the wild berry plant by uprooting it or using chemicals that destroy broad-leaved weeds.
Well done for getting to the end of this article. Enjoy putting your knowledge into practice!
