''Potentilla recta'', the sulphur cinquefoil or rough-fruited cinquefoil, is a species of

cinquefoil ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 300Guillén, A., et al. (2005)Reproductive biology of the Iberian species of ''Potentilla'' L. (Rosaceae).''Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid'' 1(62) 9–21. species of annual, biennial and perenn ...

. It is native to Eurasia but it is present in North America as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

, ranging through almost the entire continent except the northernmost part of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. The plant probably originated in the Mediterranean Basin, and it was first collected in the 19th century in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and in 1914 in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

.US Forest Service Fire Ecology
/ref> It is known as a minor noxious weed in some areas. It occurs in many types of habitat, including disturbed, weedy places.

Description

Sulphur cinquefoil is a perennial herb and is a tufted plant growing from a woody

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

or caudex. It produces upright to erect leafy stems up to tall. The upper part of the stem is branched and densely hairy, and it also bears some glandular hairs. The lower leaves have long stalks and the stem leaves are arranged alternately and have short stalks. All the leaves are palmate, divided into usually six or seven leaflets, sometimes up to nine, with the uppermost ones just having three leaflets. The green to yellow-green leaves may be up to long, with the central leaflet reaching in length. The leaflets are linear-lanceolate, hairy in texture and toothed along the edges. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a cyme of several flowers which are generally light to pale yellow in color, with white to gold-flowered individuals occurring at times. Each flower has five calyx lobes, five broad, shallowly-notched petals, thirty stamens, many pistils and a separate

gynoecium Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils' ...

. The fruit is a receptacle containing several glossy, pale brown achenes. The plant may reproduce by seed or

vegetatively Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or spec ...

by sprouting new shoots from its caudex. Sulphur cinquefoil flowers from June to August.

Distribution and habitat

Sulphur cinquefoil is native to much of Europe, Asia, and parts of North America, and it can be found in other parts of the world as an introduced species. Its natural habitat is arable fields, gardens, banks, hedgerows, wasteland, logging clearings, loading areas and occasionally shores. File:5668-fingerkraut-r-020607.jpg, Leaf Image:Potentilla erecta0.jpg, White-flowering individual File:Cinquefoil -- Potentilla recta flower.jpg, flower File:Cinquefoil -- Potentilla recta.jpg, field

Medical research

Potentilla recta. (Rosaceae) is traditionally used for its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory effects and as a tonic in Turkey.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileWashington Burke Museum
{{Taxonbar, from=Q115714 recta Flora of temperate Asia Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus