A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

 I find that each month it gets harder and harder to decide which herb should garner the coveted spot of "Herb of the Month". That is probably because the further we get in the growing season, the greater the number of plants that vie for my attention. I also try to talk about ones that I am pretty familiar with as herbs. However, I found one plant recently that I thought I knew actually became a whole lot more valuable to me. It is something we think about early June here, even earlier if you live further south, but we normally just think of its fruit. Yes, I am referring to the strawberry plant. I don't know why I never thought this lovely spring gem would not be beneficial. It is the apple of my eye this time of year. However, once the strawberries have been plucked, I normally wouldn't pay any mind to this shy vixen. Recently, I came across some information about the wonders and uses for strawberry leaves that surprised me. Now, not every benefit is for everyone but just learning what a plant can do is exciting, at least it is for me. We are so used to just eating the fruit that the leaves never get any attention, except to brush them aside to grab a juicy red strawberry. Now the leaves can take the spotlight! They are there much longer than the fruit, too. Think about that! We can harvest leaves throughout the growing season, whereas we only harvest the berries for maybe a month, if you're lucky.  Let's take a look inside the patch.

Strawberries are members of the Rosaceae family, relatives of the rose. The genus for strawberry plants is Fragaria, and there are over 20 species, along with additional hybrids. They are found almost everywhere in the world, except Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. So, they are adaptable to most climates and are pretty robust. I am not trying to get all technical but rather wanted to show just how widespread this little plant is. This wunderkind has been loved for centuries by people around the world! While the leaves don't have the allure and appeal of the berries, they are quite useful for many things. They are helpful for digestive issues, alleviate joint pain and inflammation, are natural diuretics, can lower high blood pressure, prevent macular degeneration, prevent and alleviate rheumatic arthritis, help with weight loss, and are an overall tonic for the body, especially for nursing mothers and children. They are antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant, which can help prevent and cure cancers. I don't know about you, but I think that is quite a bit for such a common plant! Who knew?? I'm sure somebody did, but that is another topic for another day.  So, is it enough to know what they can do? What can you do with them, you ask? 

Well, unlike some other herbs, you won't want to just eat them raw. You can use fresh leaves and make a tea, or add some leaves to a blend. You have to be careful with strawberry leaves, though, because they contain HCN, which can be toxic. I have heard that you either use the leaves fully fresh or fully dehydrated, nothing in between. When drying the leaves, make sure they are completely dry and have no amount of moisture left in them. This is what you need to do to assure your safety. You may get an upset stomach after using if this is not done properly. As a dried herb, you can enjoy them as a tea or you can add them to lot of different foods, which is especially useful when trying to sneak some herbs into regularly consumed foods, like soups, burgers, eggs, in a sauce, or whatever. Be creative! I do this all the time with different herbs, and if you hide them well, you and your brood will never even notice! 

I should also mention that when harvesting your strawberry leaves, don't take more than one leaf per set of three. You can harvest them all season long, but it is noted that the "best" time to harvest for flavor is when plants are flowering. We don't want to kill our strawberries, so be kind and harvest lightly. We want them to thrive, so just take a little here and there. I hope you all are as excited about strawberry leaves now as I am. Some days you wake up and just don't know how great a thing you're gonna learn that day. I hope today is one of those days for you! Strawberry fields forever! Go forth and spread this newfound knowledge.