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Potentilla anserina

Potentilla anserina: Flower
Photo by Derrick Ditchburn. High resolution version

Common name:	Silverweed	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Iran, the Himalayas, Manchuria, Japan.
Habitat:	Ditches and moist calcareous soils[7]. A common weed of cultivation[1].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Argentina anserina[B,CPHOTO,CAL,CAL,P] Argentina anserina var. concolor[B,P] Argentina argentea[B,P] Argentina egedii ssp. egedii[B,C,CAL,P] P. anserina ssp. egedii[B,P] P. anserina ssp. pacifica[B,P] P. anserina var. concolor[B,P] P. anserina var. grandis[B,P] P. anserina var. lanata[B,P] P. anserina var. rolandii[B,P] P. anserina var. sericea[B,P] P. anserina var. yukonensis[B,P] P. egedii[B,P] P. egedii ssp. grandis[B,P] P. egedii ssp. yukonensis[B,P] P. egedii var. grandis[B,P] P. egediina[P] P. pacifica[B,P] P. rolandii[B,P] P. yukonensis[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Common Silverweed [B], Eged's Pacific Silverweed [P], Genserich [E], Gumusu Besparmak [E], Silberweed [E], Silver Weed [L], Silverweed [H], Silverweed Cinquefoil [L,P], Tansy,Wild [E], Yerba Plateada [E], Zilverschoon [D],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	anserina = belonging to geese
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain Chile Europe Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m by 1m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies and beetles. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow, Lawn, Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Leaves Root Tea.

Root - raw or cooked[66, 74, 183]. It can also be dried and ground into a powder then used in soups etc or mixed with cereals[5, 12, 13, 54]. A nice taste, crisp and nutty with a somewhat starchy flavour[85, 183]. The roots are rather thin, though perhaps their size cold be improved in cultivation[K].
Edible young shoots - raw[74].
A tea is made from the leaves.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic Antispasmodic Astringent Diuretic Foot care Haemostatic Odontalgic Tonic.

Contemporary medical herbalists believe that silverweed's main medicinal value lies in its astringency. It is less astringent than the related P. erecta, but it has a gentler action within the gastro-intestinal tract[254].
The whole plant is antispasmodic, mildly astringent, diuretic, foot care, haemostatic, odontalgic and tonic[4, 7, 9, 21]. A strong infusion is used to check the bleeding of piles and to treat diarrhoea, it is also used as a gargle for sore throats[4]. Externally, it is used as a powder to treat ulcers and haemorrhoids whilst the whole bruised plant, placed over a painful area, will act as a local analgesic[7, 254]. The roots are the most astringent part of the plant[4], they are harvested in late summer or autumn and dried for later use[254]. The leaves are harvested in early summer and dried for later use[4].

Other Uses

Cleanser Tannin.

A sprig placed in the shoe can help prevent blisters[66].
An infusion of the leaves makes an excellent skin cleansing lotion[66], it is also used cosmetically as a soothing lotion for reddened skin and for the delicate skins of babies[7].
All parts of the plant contain tannin, though the report does not give quantities[4].

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant, succeeding in almost any soil, thriving in moist clays, though rather dwarfed in dry dusty soils[4]. It grows best in a well-drained loam, preferring a position in full sun but tolerating shade[1]. Prefers an alkaline soil but tolerates a slightly acid soil[200].
Silverweed was formerly cultivated for its edible root[5, 67]. It is still possibly cultivated in parts of Scotland (1992)[183].
This plant spreads vigorously by its running roots and can be very invasive[1, 4]. It grows well in a meadow, or places where the grass is only cut occasionally[K].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring or autumn in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
Division in spring. Division is also very easy at almost any time the plant is in growth. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Argentina anserina (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Argentina egedii ssp. egedii (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for potentilla anserina (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[54] Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd 1977 ISBN 0-584-10141-4
Interesting reading.

[66] Freethy. R. From Agar to Zenery. The Crowood Press 1985 ISBN 0-946284-51-2
Very readable, giving details on plant uses based on the authors own experiences.

[67] Ahrendt. Berberis and Mahonia. Journal of the Linnean Society, 57 1961
Not for the casual reader, it lists all the known species in these two genera together with botanic descriptions and other relevant details for the botanist.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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