Woodland and wild strawberry are both low, perennial herbs. Plants send out runners that establish new individuals nearby. The leaves are all basal, thin, and green (woodland strawberry) or blue-green (wild strawberry), and each has 3 coarsely-toothed leaflets, with the terminal tooth of each leaflet longer than (woodland strawberry) or shorter than (wild strawberry) its neighbors. The fruits are small strawberries. Both species grow in openings and open forests at low to subalpine elevations.