Water Avens

Common Name: Water Avens

Latin Name: Geum rivale

Family: Rosaceae

Water avens is a common perennial herb with orange-pink drooping flowers and purple sepals. It has several other local names including Billy’s Button and Soldiers Buttons. Its roots smell like cloves and have historically been used to flavour drinks such as beer, and to cure a variety of medical ailments. Its seeds are often dispersed by animals because its dry fruits are hooked.

Water avens can be found throughout the British Isles although it can be very localised in the South of England. It grows in marshes, on streamsides, open rock-ledges and in woodlands. In woodlands, water avens readily hybridises with the woodland species wood avens (Geum urbanum) to form G. intermedium.

In the Yorkshire Dales National Park water avens is common and can be found in flower between May and August in damp grasslands, ditches, open areas within woodland and on roadside verges. The hybrid form can also be found in the National Park in or close to woodlands where both parent species are present.