''Potentilla robbinsiana'', the dwarf mountain cinquefoil or Robbins' cinquefoil, is a small, yellow-flowered,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

found exclusively above the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snow ...

in the White Mountains of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

. The plant is nearly stemless and measures two to four centimeters in diameter.

History

The

Crawford Path The Crawford Path is an hiking trail in the White Mountains of New Hampshire that is considered to be the United States' oldest continuously maintained hiking trail. It travels from Crawford Notch to the summit of Mount Washington (Agiocochook ...

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...

, the oldest mountain hiking trail in America, was laid out in 1819 as a bridle path from

Crawford Notch Crawford Notch is a major pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, located in Hart's Location. Roughly half of that town is contained in Crawford Notch State Park. The high point of the notch, at approximately above sea level, is at ...

to the summit.Condensed Facts About Mount Washington, Atkinson News Co., 1912. There is some discrepancy as to who discovered ''Potentilla robbinsiana'', which some sources giving credit to its discovery in 1824 by English botanist and zoologist

Thomas Nuttall Thomas Nuttall (5 January 1786 – 10 September 1859) was an English botanist and zoologist who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841. Nuttall was born in the village of Long Preston, near Settle in the West Riding of Yorkshire and ...

, five years after completion of the Crawford Path. The more likely case is its discovery in 1829 by James Robbins. After its discovery it was described by the botanist and explorer William Oakes. It was soon recognized as a rare plant and over 850 specimens were collected and occasionally sold commercially to collectors and herbariums. In the 1970s a " backpacker boom" led to significantly increased use of the Crawford Path, making the plant's limited habitat vulnerable to hikers picking the flowers and trampling the plant. The decline of specimens of the plant was mitigated when it received protection under the Endangered Species Act in 1980, at which time the known population was a mere 3,700 plants. However, due to a very successful awareness program and an effort to reroute trails away from the plant's habitat along with enclosures for the main population, the plant has since then recovered to well over 14,000 plants and was delisted in August 2002.
USFWS Delisting Report dated 8/2009 Additional efforts included public education, biological research, seed collection and transplant efforts. The awareness program and repopulation efforts were successful in a large part due to a unique partnership between the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the

Appalachian Mountain Club Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Ma ...

, the U.S. Forest Service, and the New England Wild Flower Society.

Distribution

The White Mountain National Forest contains 100% of this species' global population. The plant has four extant occurrences, with two being natural and two others from transplant efforts.

Habitat

''Potentilla robbinsiana'' is generally placed in the dry/ mesic heath meadow system of alpine communities, though it is also found on subalpine bare rock summits. The primary habitat is an exposed and barren

fellfield A fellfield or fell field comprises the environment of a slope, usually alpine or tundra, where the dynamics of frost (freeze and thaw cycles) and of wind give rise to characteristic plant forms in scree interstices. Soil dynamics The freeze-thaw ...

habitat with high winds and low temperatures. While

frost heaving Frost heaving (or a frost heave) is an upwards swelling of soil during freezing conditions caused by an increasing presence of ice as it grows towards the surface, upwards from the depth in the soil where freezing temperatures have penetrated in ...

is considered a requirement, too much causes mortality.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5238442 robbinsiana Flora of New Hampshire Flora without expected TNC conservation status