Potentilla canadensis L. - Dwarf Cinquefoil


 

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Potentilla canadensis - (image 1 of 3)

 

Taxonomy

Family: Rosaceae

 

Synonymous with Potentilla pumila

Habitat

Dry woods and fields.

Associates

 

Distribution

Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, south to GA, inland to southern Ontario, southern OH, and eastern TN.

Morphology

Low, trailing herbaceous perennial; stems pubescent, slender, at first anthesis 5-15 cm, erect or ascending, later greatly elongating and prostrate, often rooting at the nodes; leaves alternate, palmately compound; leaflets typically 5, pubescent; flowers bright yellow, the lowest one usually in the axil of the first well-developed cauline leaf, or from the axil of a scarcely developed early leaf; perianth 5-merous, 10-15 mm wide; anthers 0.6-1.0 mm; fruit an achene.

Notes

Flowers April to June

Wetland indicator: NA

Similar to P. simplex which has the lowest flower in the axil of the second well developed cauline leaf rather than the first. Potentilla canadensis also tends to have leaflets that are more oblong (widest well above the middle).

References

 

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.

The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY.

 


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 Michael Hough © 2018