It belongs to the family of pink, the most common among the species are cinquefoil white and cinquefoil kalgan. These plants are widely used in medicine, both official and folk, possessing many medicinal properties.
Potentilla has more than 500 species and varieties of shrubs and subshrub. The plant can be annual and perennial, the area of its distribution - Siberia, the European part of the CIS countries, the Urals and the Caucasus. Many plant species are used for medicinal purposes.
The root system in most species is pivotal, with a strong rhizome. Stems, depending on the species, can be straight, creeping and creeping. Potentilla leaves are more often divided into three lobes, like strawberry leaves, the edge of the leaf plate is marked by uneven cloves, the upper part of the leaves is covered with a soft pile.
Potentilla bloom in June (depending on the species) and bloom until late autumn. The inflorescences are umbrella and paniculate, the flowers of the species are on average 2 cm in diameter, regular or double. The color of flowers is diverse: all shades of the rainbow, except for too dark purple flowers. At the end of flowering the fruit is formed - many-cored.
Potentilla white (Potentilla alba)
White bloodroot - perennial, resembling forest strawberry. This plant is common in Belarus, in the forests of Ukraine, in the Crimean steppes. 
The height of the silverweed is up to 30 cm, the root of the plant reaches 50 cm in length. The leaves are light green, divided into five plates. Stems are dark brown. Flowers are white, large, up to 3 cm in diameter, have five petals, inflorescences in the form of an umbrella. Potentilla white blooms in late May - June.
Unusually beautiful white flowered varieties:
- "Veitchii" - with red stamens;
- "Snowbird" - semi-double flowers.
Potentilla brilliant (Potentilla nitida)
Potentilla is brilliant - low, up to 7 cm, shrub, covering the earth with a dense carpet. 
The leaves are in the form of a rosette of silver-green color, with plates divided into three parts. The leaves are small, especially against the background of flowers, 1 cm long, in the shape of an irregular oval, in the tapering upper part denoted by teeth. Flowers solitary, up to 2.5 cm in diameter, often pink or lilac, saturated shades.
Potentilla hybrid (Potentilla x hybrida hort.)
Potentilla hybrid varieties are obtained by combining several plant species. Potentilla hybrid - perennial with vertical taproot. 
Bushes grow up to a meter in height, the stems are often fleecy, straight and branched, at the base of the stem a rosette of leaves is formed. The leaves are long, elongated, edged with teeth along the edge, the leaf plates are divided into three parts. Flowers are large, up to 4 cm in diameter, color is saturated yellow, pink and red, to purple.
The most famous varieties of Potentilla Hybrid:
- "Master Floris" - a variety with lush and abundant flowering, flowers are ordinary, large, yellow with red tint;
- "Yellow Queen" - a low shrub up to 30 cm tall, yellow flower petals seem wet and shiny when illuminated.
Silverweed goose or goose foot (Potentilla anserina)
Silvergrass goose foot or goose foot - perennial family of Rosaceae, in the people it is also called the gill, goose dubrovka, convulsive grass. 
The plant has a strong divided rhizome, creeping flexible stems with tendrils, which are spreading, rooted in the soil. A plant with lush foliage, leafy plates are divided into many parts. The upper part of the leaf is green, the bottom with a white tint, pubescent, velvet to the touch.
Potentilla goose blooms in May, flowering lasts until August. Flowers solitary, pyatilepestkovye, have a double cup of yellow color with a golden sheen. At the end of flowering forms a fruit - achene. The goose foot in nature is found in Europe and North America.
Did you know? The second name of Kuril tea is the goose foot, since ancient times, the islanders have noticed the beneficial effect of Potentilla on the body. People using tea from Potentilla were not susceptible to scurvy and viral infections.
Potentilla golden (Potentilla aurea)
Silverweed golden - perennial bush grows up to 20 cm tall, with a crown diameter of 30 cm Stems thin straight with basal rosette of leaves. The leaves are elongated, serrated, velvety lower part of the leaf. 
Blossoms in July about two months. The single flowers are bright yellow with a rich center, the petals are large, round and shiny.
Potentilla grandiflora (Potentilla megalantha = P. fragiformis)
Large-flowered silverweed originally from Japan, often used in rock gardens of the Japanese type. Decorative and before flowering, different beautiful gray-green, large leaves, like strawberry. 
It blooms from June to the first frost. The flowers are large, golden yellow. The bush up to 10 cm high grows in diameter up to 25 cm. The silverweed grandiflora successfully develops in places well lit by the sun.
Silverweed deceptive (Potentilla ambigua)
Silverweed is deceptive - low plant up to 10 cm. Long thin stalks of a plant have a reddish shade. The sheet plates are divided into several parts of saturated green color, each plate is clearly divided by the central vein into two equal parts. The shape of the leaves is elongated, with well-pronounced teeth. 
At the end of July, the silverweed blooms with juicy yellow flowers of small size, gathered in several pieces on the inflorescences in the form of a brush.
Important! Silverweed is deceptive - the aggressor. The plant grows quickly, crawling and rooting in foreign territories and entangling weaker plants with its shoots.
Potentilla direct (upright), Kalgan (Potentilla erecta)
Silverweed Kalgan - short bush up to 20 cm tall. The plant has a tuberous root system, with a thickened central root. Straight stems branch as they grow. 
The elongated shape of the feathery leaves of dark green color have a glossy surface. A distinctive feature of Kalgan is a short flowering no more than two days. The flowers are small, up to a centimeter in diameter, bright yellow.
Interesting! In the old recipes, potentilla is mentioned in the description of the production of gingerbread. From the root of the plant was made the so-called "Kalganovskaya spice", which was used in various baking.
Potentilla dark and blood red (Potentilla atrosanguinea)
Potentilla of this species - shrub up to 60 cm in height. Stems are flexible, thin, slightly pubescent, in the lower part of the stem a basal rosette of leaves is formed. The leaves are elongated, three-toed, with a jagged edge. 
The upper part of the leaf is pale green, the lower one is whitish, velvety. Inflorescences are thyroid and paniculate form. Large, up to 5 cm in diameter, the flowers are colored shades from scarlet to dark burgundy. Flowering begins in June and lasts until September.
The most popular variety is Gibson Scarlet (it blooms for up to two months).
Silverweed silver-leaved (Potentilla argyrophylla)
This variety is hybrid. The bush grows up to 30 cm tall. Thin stems are erect, they are lodging, silver with edge. 
The leaves are separated, ovate-elongated, with a whitish jagged edge. Beautiful flowers with petals in the shape of a heart, yellow with a bright orange speck in the center.
Important! Potentilla grows heavily. In order not to overload the site, it is recommended to replant it, dividing the bush every three to four years. In the spring - in the month of May, in the fall - in September.
Silverweed Nepalese (Potentilla nepalensis)
Silverweed Nepalese grows up to 60 cm in height. Decorative view with thin burgundy-colored stems. The leaves are dark green in color have an elongated shape with a pronounced central vein. 
Panicle-shaped inflorescences are decorated with large flowers. Potentilla flowers of Nepalese pink shades with a bright spot of a darker color in the center and a dark center. Some varieties on the petals have dark veins.
Most cultivated varieties:
- "Roxana" - coral color with orange petals, riddled with dark streaks;
- "Miss Wilmotte" - cherry-colored flowers with a darker pronounced speck;
- "Floris" - the color of salmon with a reddish eye.
Potentilla tridentary (Potentilla tridentata)
View from the woody stems at the base and wintering leaves. The stems of a young plant are green; as they grow, they turn brownish. The leaves are elongated, oval-shaped, with a clear strip along the center of the plate. The leaf plate ends with teeth, by autumn the green color changes to yellowish or orange. 
It blooms with white flowers, the petals are down, revealing a stamen, the shape of the petals is an elongated oval.
Potentilla can be a decoration not only the garden area. Some varieties grow beautifully in hanging containers and flowerpots; species with creeping stems will decorate lawns and rocky places in the backyard.
Due to the long flowering, the versatility of the color of leaves and stems, as well as the variety of varieties, the silverweed will decorate the garden for the whole spring-summer-autumn period.
