Overview
Argentina anserina, also known as Potentilla anserina, is a low, creeping perennial in the rose family that spreads by long, slender red runners in the manner of a strawberry. The pinnate leaves, 2-8 inches (5-20 cm) long, are divided into many sharply toothed leaflets and are coated beneath, and sometimes above, with silky white hairs that give a silver sheen. Solitary yellow five-petaled flowers about 0.6-1 inch (1.5-2.5 cm) across are held on slender stalks above the foliage from late spring through summer. The rooting runners let it form spreading silvery mats across open ground. It grows across the temperate Northern Hemisphere and southern South America, in damp meadows, riverbanks, dune slacks, and coastal grassland, often where the ground is seasonally wet or trampled. The fleshy roots are starchy and were gathered and eaten as a food in parts of Europe before the potato became common. It tolerates salt and poor soils, but its runners can spread into lawns and beds, where it is treated as a weed.
Native Range
Native across the temperate and subarctic Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, Asia, and North America, with populations in southern South America. It grows in damp grassland, riverbanks, dune hollows, and coastal meadows.Suggested Uses
Grown as a tough groundcover for damp, coastal, or saline sites and for streamside and pond-edge plantings. Its silvery foliage and rooting habit stabilize banks and bare ground. The starchy roots are edible cooked, and the leaves have been used in herbal teas.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height2" - 6"
Width/Spread1' - 3'
Reaches mature size in approximately 1 years
Bloom Information
Detailed Descriptions
Foliage Description
Green above, silvery-silky beneathGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 4-10 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight