Silverweed. Photo by Beth Hoar.

Looking for an interesting and attractive plant for your wild garden? Or perhaps you want to stabilize cover over dry, sandy soils? Around your cottage at the shore? Take a look at Silverweed, a common wild native species - and not a troublesome weed at all.

Names:

This appealing plant has many names, including silverweed and cinquefoil. Scientifically, it is now called Argentina anserina, though formerly it was known as Potentilla anserina. The ‘Potentilla' term gives a clue to its many potent medicinal uses, while ‘anserina' suggests that you might find it in grassy areas where geese graze. I wish they wouldn't change nice scientific names.

Description:

The common name comes from the silvery undersides of the leaves. These leaves are compound, with many oblong, toothed leaflets. The solitary flowers are yellow and bloom from June to August. From a distance you might mistake silverweed for a buttercup, but look closely at the flower (in fact, at the whole plant). It will remind you of a strawberry, and it is related, both being in the rose family. However, instead of a luscious strawberry the fruit is a collection of dry achene seeds, which are quite attractive to small birds and mice.

Uses:

Silverweed is a good ground cover that resists trampling and is food for a variety of birds and small mammals. The roots and rhizomes are edible if you are into wild foods, and different parts of the plant have been used in medicine for centuries - intestinal disorders, cramps, bladder problems and many other maladies have been treated with Silverweed extracts, no doubt with varying success.

Establishment:

Silverweed transplants readily and spreads by stolons, like strawberry. In fact, if you treat it like a strawberry plant, you won't go far wrong. It is very common across the province so you won't be endangering a rare plant if you lift a few for transplanting!

Written by Ian MacQuarrie