Culpeper prescribed strawberries "to cool the liver, the blood, and the spleen, or an hot choleric stomach; to refresh and comfort the fainting spirits, and quench thirst." They are cleansing too, and have been used to whiten teeth and skin or to soothe sunburn. Perhaps due to their high Vitamin C content they also help, as Culpeper describes it, "to fasten loose teeth and to heal spungy foul gums."
The leaves of wild strawberry make a good tea which, according to Jethro Kloss, "tones up the appetite and the entire system generally." They are often mixed with sweet woodruff, either in tea or May wine. Duke also praises those leaves for their rich content of vitamins, minerals, and ellagic acid-which is supposed to help prevent cancer.
But we love strawberries best, of course, for their sweet selves and can't get enough of them in shortcakes, pies, jams, and other delicacies. After all, the nursery-rhyme "good life" was to "sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam and dine upon strawberries, sugar, and cream!"
Note: Strawberry photos are by author, all rights reserved, and may not be copied or reproduced without permission. Strawberry image is from Carl Lindeman's Bilder un Nordens Flora, courtesy of the Texas Vascular Plant Image Gallery at http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/gallery .
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