''Potentilla indica'', known commonly as mock strawberry, Indian strawberry, or snakeberry in North America, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...

. It has ternate foliage and an aggregate

accessory fruit An accessory fruit is a fruit that contains tissue derived from plant parts other than the Ovary (botany), ovary. In other words, the flesh of the fruit develops not from the floral ovary, but from some adjacent tissue exterior to the carpel (f ...

, similar to true

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...

of the genus ''

Fragaria ''Fragaria'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. There are more than 20 described species and many Hybrid plant, hybrids and cultivars. The most common strawberr ...

''. Unlike the white or slightly pink flowers of true strawberries, ''Potentilla indica'' has yellow

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s, as do many other

Potentilla ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 500 species of Annual plant, annual, Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family (biology), family, Rosaceae. Potentillas m ...

species. It is native to eastern and southern

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, but has

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

in many regions worldwide. They are considered to be an invasive species and weed by some. Many sources consider this plant part of the genus ''

'' due to evidence from chloroplast genetic sequence data that the genus ''Duchesnea'' is included within ''Potentilla'', though some still list it as ''Duchesnea indica''.

Description

The herbaceous plant spreads along creeping

stolon In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...

s, rooting and producing plantlets at each node. The leaves are

trifoliate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets ...

, dark green, and somewhat thick. The flowers are produced singly on axillary peduncles. The yellow petals of ''Potentilla indica'' have a nectar guide near the center of each petal that absorbs UV light more strongly than the rest of the petal and is visible only in the UV spectrum. The most common variety, ''Potentilla indica var. indica'', has fruiting receptacles and achenes that are red and glossy. The rare variety ''D. indica f. albocaput'' Naruh., with white receptacles and cream achenes, has been reported only in Argentina and Japan.

Invasiveness

Mock strawberry is considered invasive in some regions of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where it may disrupt local

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

. Studies have shown that it can negatively impact the abundance of

springtails Springtails (class Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern Hexapoda, hexapods that are no longer considered insects. Although the three lineages are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have in ...

and

ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

, affecting soil

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

Uses

The fresh berries are edible but considered less palatable than proper strawberries. A survey conducted in Assam, India from 2018-2020 documented the use of ''Potentilla indica'' by traditional healers to treat asthma. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used for clearing heat, cooling blood, detumescence, and detoxication.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q162878, from2=Q24192276 Potentilla Flora of temperate Asia Flora of tropical Asia Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews