Potentilla anserina

A fast-growing hardy perennial reaching 30cm tall and 1m wide. Flowers June to August with hermaphroditic blooms pollinated by bees, flies, and beetles. Self-fertile. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with mildly acidic to basic pH. Grows in semi-shade to full sun and prefers moist, well-drained soil. Hardy to UK zone 5 and tolerates maritime exposure.

Description

A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 30 cm tall. The roots are prolonged downwards. It can have root tubers. The leaves near the root have 6-11 pairs of leaflets. The leaves on the stem have fewer leaflets. The flowers occur singly in the axils of leaves. The petals are yellow.

Edible Uses

The roots can be eaten raw or cooked, and have a pleasant crisp, nutty flavour with a somewhat starchy quality. They can also be dried and ground into a powder for use in soups or mixed with cereals. The roots tend to be rather thin, though cultivation may improve their size. Young shoots are also edible raw. The leaves can be used to make a tea.

Traditional Uses

The fleshy roots can be roasted and added to soups and stews. The roots can be boiled for 20 minutes and served with butter. The young leaves are used as a vegetable and used raw in salads. The leaves are used for tea.

Medicinal Uses

Contemporary herbalists regard silverweed's chief medicinal value as its astringency — milder than the related P. erecta but gentler in action within the gastro-intestinal tract. The whole plant is antispasmodic, mildly astringent, diuretic, haemostatic, odontalgic and tonic, with applications in foot care. A strong infusion is used to check bleeding from piles and to treat diarrhoea, and also serves as a gargle for sore throats. Externally, the plant can be powdered to treat ulcers and haemorrhoids, while the whole bruised plant placed over a painful area acts as a local analgesic. The roots are the most astringent part and are harvested in late summer or autumn for drying. Leaves are harvested in early summer and dried for later use. The German Commission E Monographs approve Potentilla anserina for diarrhoea, inflammation of the mouth and pharynx, and premenstrual syndrome.

Known Hazards

Possible stomach irritation.

Distribution

It grows in temperate places. It grows in wet places and on mountain slopes between 500-4100 m altitude in N China. It grows on wet sandy shores and salt marshes. It grows in wetlands. Tasmania Herbarium. In Sichuan. In Inner Mongolia.

Where It Grows

Alaska, Arctic, Asia, Australia, Balkans, Bosnia, Britain, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Europe, Falklands, Faroe Islands, Germany, Himalayas, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mongolia, New Zealand, North America, Norway, Poland, Scandinavia, Siberia, Slovenia, South America, Sweden, Tasmania, Tibet, USA,

Cultivation

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

Propagation

Sow seed in early spring or autumn in a cold frame. Prick seedlings out into individual pots once large enough to handle, then plant into permanent positions during summer. For division, spring is ideal, though the plant can be divided at almost any point during active growth. Larger divisions can go straight into permanent positions, while smaller ones are better potted up and grown on in light shade in a cold frame until well established, then planted out in late spring or early summer.

Other Uses

A sprig placed inside a shoe can help prevent blisters. An infusion of the leaves makes an effective skin-cleansing lotion and is also used as a soothing preparation for reddened skin and the delicate skin of babies. All parts of the plant contain tannin, though quantities are not specified. The plant functions as a dynamic accumulator, gathering minerals and nutrients from the soil and storing them in a more bioavailable form, making it useful as a fertilizer or mulch improver.

Other Information

A famine food. It is highly valued in some places. The roots are especially eaten by children.

Notes

There are about 200-500 Potentilla species. They are mostly in temperate and frigid zones.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Chuo ma, Chuomo, Foldi mogyoro, Gosji petoprstnik, Gro ma, Guscija trava, Jue ma, Libapimpo, Taulain tangnai

References (49)

• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 487
• Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database." http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994)
• Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 825
• Boesi, A., 2014, Traditional knowledge of wild food plants in a few Tibetan communities. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 10:75
• Bremness, L., 1994, Herbs. Collins Eyewitness Handbooks. Harper Collins. p 206

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