Appalachian Barren Strawberry

Waldsteinia fragarioides

Appalachian barren strawberry is one of the best native groundcovers for dry shade. The trifoliate leaves look exactly like wild strawberry. glossy, toothed, attractive. but the plant makes no edible fruit. What it does make, from April through May, are cheerful bright yellow five-petaled flowers that rise just above the foliage, catching any available light under a canopy. The foliage is semi-evergreen to evergreen in mild winters, providing year-round cover. It spreads by runners and stolons at a measured pace, gradually filling in the ground layer between trees without ever becoming a problem. An understated workhorse for difficult dry-shade situations under mature oaks and hickories where little else will thrive. Once established, it essentially disappears from the maintenance list.