This plant has two subspecies, one is native (ssp. americana) and one is not (ssp. vesca).  The species is similar to the common strawberry (F. virginiana) but has smaller flowers, narrower and more pointed leaves, and flowers that are usually held above the leaves. Like all strawberries, it has three coarsely toothed leaflets on a slender stalk and a flower with five petals. The flower resembles that of a rose and the species is part of the rose family.

Unlike the common strawberry that develops fruit with seeds in pits, the wood strawberry has seeds on the surface. This species was consumed by humans as far back as the Stone Age and was first cultivated in ancient Persia. It was imported to North America at an early date and has naturalized to rocky wooded areas, pastures clearings or roadsides. It is rarely collected now that the larger commercial strawberry is available. It is found in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States south to Missouri and Virginia. It blooms from May to August depending on location. It may spread by seed or by runners. This species is also called woodland or alpine strawberry. Some botanists make a distinction between this and the alpine strawberry.