that it would not be a bad idea for Russian peasants to do likewise, especially in famine years. The mission of Sarat Chandra Das to Tibet in the late nineteenth century reported that the root of the plant, under a Tibetan name variously transcribed as toma, doma or droma, was served cooked in butter and sugar at the New Year's celebrations in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Etymology and folklore The pre-Linnaean name anserina means "of the goose" (Anser), either because the plant was used to feed them or because the leaves resembled the bird's footprints. In Sweden, the flower is called gåsört (goose-wort). A rich folklore has developed around Silverweed. The plant bears the common name of richette in French, being rich through both silver and gold. There is a legend that the Christ Child grew up and walked the roads of Palestine, and the yellow flowering plant of the dusty wayside with silvery fern-like leaves that lay flat on the ground has been called the Footsteps of Our Lord. Fossil record Argentina anserina achenes are rather rare in Pliocene fossil floras of the East Europe but common in the Pleistocene. References External links Jepson Manual Treatment Photo gallery anserina Medicinal plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Root vegetables