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Taxon  Report  
Potentilla anserina  L.
Silver weed cinquefoil,   Silverweed
Potentilla anserina is a perennial herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in North America and beyond.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
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Bloom Period
Subspecies and Varieties:
Genus: Potentilla
Family: Rosaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Wetlands: Occurs in wetlands

Communities: Yellow Pine Forest, Red Fir Forest, wetland-riparian

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF

Alternate Names:
iNatArgentina pacifica
PLANTSArgentina anserina
Information about  Potentilla anserina from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
This plant is available commercially.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (ARAN7)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[Wikipedia] Description, Habitat: Argentina anserina (synonym Potentilla anserina) is a perennial flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is known by the common names silverweed, common silverweed or silver cinquefoil. It is native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, often on river shores and in grassy habitats such as meadows and road-sides. The plant was originally placed in the genus Potentilla by Carl Linnaeus in his Species plantarum, edition 1, (1753) but was reclassified into the resurrected genus Argentina by research conducted in the 1990s.[2] The reclassification remains controversial and is not accepted by some authorities.[1][3][4][5] It is a species aggregate which has frequently been divided into multiple species.[6][7] Description Silverweed is a low-growing herbaceous plant with creeping red stolons that can be up to 80 cm long. The leaves are 10 to 20 cm long, evenly pinnate into in saw-toothed leaflets 2 to 5 cm long and 1 to 2 cm broad with 6 to 14 teeth per side, 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. Each leaf is borne on a channeled petiole up to 5cm in length with a long sheathing base.[8] The flowers are produced singly on 5 to 15 cm long stems, 1.5 to 2.5 cm diameter with five (rarely up to seven) yellow petals. The fruit is a cluster of dry achenes. Habitat Silverweed is most often found in sandy or gravelly soils, where it may spread rapidly by its prolific rooting stolons. It typically occurs in inland habitats, unlike A. egedii, which is a salt-tolerant coastal salt marsh plant. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 11/21/2024).