Silverweed

Silverweed - Potentilla anserina

Description

Short, hairy plant with long creeping and rooting runners. Leaves in tufts, pinnate, with 15 to 25 oblong, sharply toothed leaflets, silvery hairy, particularly beneath. Flowers yellow, 15 to 20 mm solitary, the petals twice the length of the sepals.

Similar Species

The flowers alone are similar to many other species but combined with the leaves it provides a unique combination.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Grassy habitats, pathways, roadsides.

When to see it

May to August.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

Very common throughout Britain.

VC55 Status

Very common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 592 of the 617 tetrads.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Additional images

All NatureSpot records

Photo of the association

Agromyza sulfuriceps

The larva of the Agromyzid fly Agromyza sulfuriceps mines the leaves of various species in the Rosaceae family including Roses, Meadowsweet, Strawberry, Silverweed, Cinquefoil, Raspberry and Burnets. The mine starts as a long corridor, its initial part often along the leaf margin or a thick vein. Rather suddenly the corridor widens into a broad blotch. The corridor contains much frass, often in two distinct patches or lines.