NEN Gallery

Silverweed is a low-growing herbaceous plant with creeping red stolons up to 80 cm long. The leaves are 10-20 cm long, evenly pinnate into in crenate leaflets 2-5 cm long and 1-2 cm broad, covered with silky white hairs, particularly on the underside. These hairs are also present on the stem and the stolons. These give the leaves the silvery appearance from which the plant gets its name. Silverweed is most often found in sandy or gravelly soils in grassland or by roadsides, where it may spread rapidly by its prolific rooting stolons. The plant was formerly classified in the genus Potentilla but has recently been reclassified into the new genus Argentina. It has been used to make herbal tea and to settle upset stomachs. It flowers June to August. Picture taken at Felmersham, Bedfordshire 13th May 2006.