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I live in southern Illinois, and earlier today I noticed this small red fruit in my yard. It looks kind of like a strawberry, but it's the size of a small raspberry (about 1/4 inches in diameter).

Small red fruit

Does anyone have any idea what it is?

J. Musser
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The Flash
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  • Hey Matt! Nice to see you on GL! I was almost positive this was a dupe, but I think I must remember IDing this weed by comment somewhere. I am assuming you weren't looking for methods of control, hence the short answer. If that would be useful, I can expand the answer. – J. Musser Jul 28 '14 at 03:32
  • The only other reference I could find was in [this question](http://gardening.stackexchange.com/q/13424/2984). I'm not really looking for weed control, since I'm renting the place and the whole yard is a mix of various clover-like plants. I was just wondering what it was. :) – The Flash Jul 28 '14 at 03:51
  • I don't think the search engine picks up content from comments. – J. Musser Jul 28 '14 at 03:56
  • @J.Musser That's true, I was just double-checking for a duplicate. – The Flash Jul 28 '14 at 04:07

1 Answers1

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That is Mock Strawberry, Duchesnea indica. The fruits are edible, but rather tasteless. This is a common weed in much of the United States. Look for small, strawberry-like plants in your lawn, with long stolons connecting the individual crowns. These plants have five petaled yellow flowers. See comparison photos:

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J. Musser
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