Mock Strawberry

Firstly, many thanks for the birthday wishes and nice comments on my self-portrait, I only looked relaxed because Pete had come into the room to see what I was up to, and distracted me from my self-consciousness.

After yesterday's rain we woke to a bright and frosty morning. We decided to go for a bracing walk with a little plant recording included, but our chosen footpath had been closed, so we ended up recording Market Deeping. Once again we found some very interesting species, including probably the first county record for Yellow-flowered Strawberry Potentilla indica, which is also known as Mock Strawberry or Indian Strawberry. It is native in south and east Asia, but is now occasionally naturalised in the UK, mostly in shady places.

The fruit and leaves are edible and medicinal. However, the fruit is said to be tasteless, with a flavour somewhat akin to a watermelon according to some. The fruit contains constituents such as sugar, protein, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and the leaves also edible as pot herb, also known as a cooking herb. The entire plant is medicinal as an anticoagulant, antiseptic, depurative (purifier) and febrifuge (fever reducer). The herb can be used for stomatitis (an inflammation of the mucus lining), laryngitis, and acute tonsillitis. It is used extensively in China as a medicinal herb, and is being studied for its ability to stop the HIV virus and some forms of cancer from spreading through the body.

In the evening I was treated to a wonderful three course meal, cooked by Pete, Alex and Ben. I am very, very lucky!

PS I've now found several other records for this species in South Lincolnshire, mostly from churchyards and their environs. This seems to be a more widespread phenomenon - perhaps historically this plant was grown for its medicinal properties.