AKA – False Strawberry, Mock Strawberry, She Mei.
Indian Strawberry
I’ve always heard this referred to as snake berry. I assumed it was because the berry grew right next to the ground making it perfect snake food. That still may be true, the name She Mei is Chinese meaning snake strawberry.
The name Indian strawberry has no association with the American Indian. It is sometimes called Indian strawberry because it is believed the plant originated in India (Himalayas).
The berry on this plant is edible but to my taste they are rather bland. The berries contain sugar, proteins, and vitamin C. Like quite a few other plants in the mountains Indian strawberry has a variety of medicinal properties associated with parts of the plant and the plant as a whole.
Indian Strawberry – Duchesnea indica
The whole plant is medicinal as an anticoagulant, antiseptic, depurative and febrifuge. Herb can be used in a decoction for stomatitis, laryngitis, and acute tonsilitis, or the fresh leaves can be crushed and applied externally as a medicinal poultice. It is used in the treatment of boils and abcesses, burns, weeping eczema, ringworm, snake and insect bites and traumatic injuries. A decoction of the leaves is medicinal and used in the treatment of swellings. An infusion of the flowers is used to activate the blood circulation and the fruit is used to cure skin diseases. Indian Strawberry 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.
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When one tugs at a single thing in nature; he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
