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Home/Species/ Northern Barren Strawberry

Waldsteinia fragarioides

(Michx.) Tratt.

Northern Barren Strawberry

G5Secure Found in 19 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.136156
Element CodePDROS1S012
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderRosales
FamilyRosaceae
GenusWaldsteinia
Synonyms
Geum fragarioides(Michx.) SmedmarkWaldsteinia fragarioides ssp. fragarioidesWaldsteinia fragarioides var. fragarioides
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
According to Weakley and Gandhi (2008), Waldsteinia fragarioides ssp. fragarioides is the distinct species Geum fragarioides (sensu stricto). Flora of North America (vol. 9, 2014) and Weakley (2023) recognize it as the species W. fragarioides.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2023-10-25
Change Date1991-03-15
Edition Date2023-10-25
Edition AuthorsNordman, C. (2023).
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Northern Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides) occurs in eastern North America, from New Brunswick and Maine, west to Ontario and Minnesota, south to North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri. It is estimated there are more than 1000 occurrences rangewide. Threats include fragmentation and loss of habitat due to residential development and urbanization, clearcutting, competition from invasive exotic plants such as Lonicera japonica.
Range Extent Comments
Northern Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides) occurs in eastern North America, from New Brunswick and Maine, west to Ontario and Minnesota, south to North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri, it has also been reported from northern Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, but plants in the southern edge of the range may be the Southern Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia parviflora), which is similar, and now considered a distinct species, . Range extent was estimated to be 2.2 million square kilometers, using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1992 and 2023 (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2014, GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2023).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1992 and 2023, it is estimated that there are more than 1000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023).
Threat Impact Comments
Threats to Northern Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides) include fragmentation and loss of habitat due to residential development and urbanization, clearcutting, competition from invasive exotic plants such as Lonicera japonica. An emerging threat in the southern part of its range, is extreme drought such as may be associated with climate change (Buczynski 2019, Hill 2003).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Northern Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides) occurs in moist or dry hardwood or mixed conifer-hardwood forests and woodlands, including on thin soil over rock outcrops, along streambanks, and in more open woodlands, thickets and savannas in the north (such as in northern Michigan), at 0–600 meters elevation (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2014, Voss and Reznicek 2012, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2023).

Reproduction

Reproduction includes clonal vegetative reproduction, it forms dense clonal colonies from creeping rhizomes underneath the soil. Plants can be autogamous (self-pollinating), the amount of sexual reproduction and successful recruitment from seeds is not well known (Buczynski 2019, Hill 2003).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodForest - MixedWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - MixedSavanna
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MaineS1Yes
New YorkS5Yes
ConnecticutS1Yes
MarylandSNRYes
New HampshireS2Yes
MinnesotaS3Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
VermontS4Yes
WisconsinSNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
KentuckyS3Yes
IllinoisSHYes
MissouriS2Yes
New JerseyS2Yes
South CarolinaSNRYes
West VirginiaS4Yes
North CarolinaSUYes
IndianaS3Yes
VirginiaS4Yes
ArkansasS1Yes
MassachusettsS3Yes
MichiganSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
New BrunswickS2Yes
QuebecS3Yes
OntarioS5Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentSmall (1-10%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areasSmall (1-10%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5 - Biological resource useRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (19)
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Clifty CanyonOzark-St. Francis National Forest1,963
Georgia (4)
AreaForestAcres
Boggs CreekChattahoochee National Forest2,073
Cedar MountainChattahoochee National Forest1,083
Helton CreekChattahoochee National Forest2,348
Kelly RidgeChattahoochee National Forest8,325
Michigan (1)
AreaForestAcres
Norwich Plains Revised Roadless AreaOttawa National Forest4,360
North Carolina (1)
AreaForestAcres
SnowbirdNantahala National Forest8,489
Pennsylvania (2)
AreaForestAcres
Allegheny FrontAllegheny National Forest7,430
Tracy RidgeAllegheny National Forest9,034
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Sycamore CreekCherokee National Forest6,984
Vermont (1)
AreaForestAcres
Devil's Den 09083Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests9,169
Virginia (4)
AreaForestAcres
Gum RunGeorge Washington National Forest12,620
JerkemtightGeorge Washington National Forest16,687
Laurel ForkGeorge Washington National Forest9,967
SkidmoreGeorge Washington National Forest5,641
West Virginia (4)
AreaForestAcres
Cheat MountainMonongahela National Forest8,191
Cranberry Glades Botanical AreaMonongahela National Forest785
Dry River (WV)George Washington National Forest7,331
Middle MountainMonongahela National Forest19,020
References (9)
  1. Buczynski. R. 2019. Waldsteinia fragarioides var. fragarioides Rare Plant Profile. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry, New Jersey Forest Service, Office of Natural Lands Management, New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Trenton, NJ. 11 pp. [<a href="https://nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/natural/heritage/docs/waldsteinia-fragarioides-var-fragarioides-barren-strawberry.pdf">https://nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/natural/heritage/docs/waldsteinia-fragarioides-var-fragarioides-barren-strawberry.pdf</a>]
  2. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2014b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 9. Magnoliophyta: Picramniaceae to Rosaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 713 pp.
  3. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2023. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2023).
  4. Hill, S.R. 2003. Conservation Assessment for Barren Strawberry <i>Waldsteinia fragarioides</i> ssp. <i>fragarioides </i>(Michx.) Tratt. Report prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region, by the Illinois Natural History Survey. 4 June 2003. Online. Available: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm91_054108.pdf (Accessed 2023).
  5. iNaturalist. 2023. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2023).
  6. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  7. Voss, E. G., and A. A. Reznicek. 2012. Field Manual of Michigan Flora. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. 990 pp.
  8. Weakley, A.S. and K.N. Gandhi. 2008. Recognition of three taxa of eastern North American "<i>Waldsteinia</i>" and their appropriate names when incorporated into <i>Geum</i> (Colurieae: Rosaceae). Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 2(1):415-418.
  9. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2023. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of April 14, 2023. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2105 pp.