White cinquefoil Potentilla glandulosa close

''Drymocallis glandulosa'', known by the common name sticky cinquefoil and formerly as ''Potentilla glandulosa'', is a plant species in the family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

. It is native to western North America from southwestern Canada through the far western United States and California, into Baja California. It is widespread and can be found in many types of habitats.

Description

''Drymocallis glandulosa'' is generally erect in form but it may be small and tuftlike, measuring just a few centimeters high, or tall and slender, approaching in height. It may or may not have

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s. It is usually coated in hairs, many of which are glandular, giving the plant a sticky texture. The leaves are each divided into several leaflets, with one long terminal leaflet and a few smaller ones widely spaced on each side. The inflorescence is a cyme of 2 to 30 flowers which are variable in color and size. Each has usually five petals up to a centimeter long which may be white to pale yellow to gold.

Varieties

It is highly variable and there are many varieties and subspecies, some of which intergrade and are not clearly defined. They include: * ''Drymocallis glandulosa'' var. ''glandulosa'' * ''Drymocallis glandulosa'' var. ''reflexa'' * ''Drymocallis glandulosa'' var. ''viscida'' * ''Drymocallis glandulosa'' var. ''wrangelliana''

Ecology

The plant is more common after its habitat is cleared or disturbed, such as by wildfire,

clearcutting Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/ logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fore ...

, or heavy grazing. It is an important food for several species of

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

, including the

western harvest mouse The western harvest mouse (''Reithrodontomys megalotis'') is a small neotomine mouse native to most of the western United States. Many authorities consider the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse to be a subspecies, but the two are now usually ...

cactus mouse The cactus mouse (''Peromyscus eremicus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is a species of the genus ''Peromyscus'', a closely related group of New World mice often called "deermice" (although the term more commonly refers sp ...

, and

California mouse The California deermouse or California mouse (''Peromyscus californicus'') is a species of rodent in the subfamily Neotominae in the family Cricetidae. It is the only species in the ''Peromyscus californicus'' species group. It is found in nort ...

References

External links

* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q15537861 glandulosa Baja California Flora of British Columbia Flora of California Flora of Idaho Flora of Montana Flora of Nevada Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Great Basin Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status