There are many kinds of Cinquefoils, mostly natives of the north
temperate zone, usually herbs, with compound leaves and yellow, white
or purple flowers, always with pedicels; the flat or cup-shaped calyx,
with five, main teeth, alternating with five, tooth-like bractlets;
petals five, broad, often notched; stamens numerous, with threadlike
filaments and small anthers, near the base of the calyx-cup; pistils
numerous, on the conical, hairy receptacle, which does not become
fleshy or juicy, each pistil maturing into a dry, seed-like akene.
Potentilla means "powerful," as some sorts are medicinal. They often
resemble Buttercups, but never have shiny petals, and Buttercups do not
have bractlets between the calyx-lobes.
[Sidenote: =Arctic Cinquefoil=
_Potentílla emarginàta_
=Yellow
Summer
Northwest=]
A dear little plant, forming low tufts, two or three inches high, with
thin, brownish stipules, bright green leaves, more or less hairy, and
bright yellow flowers, deeper in color towards the center and about
half an inch across. This grows in high northern mountains across the
continent and in Siberia.
[Sidenote: =Silky Cinquefoil=
_Potentílla pectinisécta_
=Yellow
Spring, summer
Utah, Ariz., Wyo.=]
The foliage of this plant is a lovely shade of silvery gray, which
suits the yellow flowers. It has several stoutish, reddish, stems, a
foot to a foot and a half tall, springing from clumps of leaves, with
long leaf-stalks and five to seven leaflets. The bright-yellow flowers
are each three-quarters of an inch across and the whole plant is
conspicuously covered with long, thick, white, silky down, particularly
on the under side of the leaves.
[Sidenote: =Shrubby Cinquefoil=
_Dasíphora fruticòsa_ (_Potentilla_)
=Yellow
Spring, summer
West, etc.=]
This is the only kind of Dasiphora, a pretty shrub, very branching
and leafy, one to four feet high, dotted all over with charming
flowers. The bark is shreddy and the gray-green leaves are covered
with silky down, with rolled back margins, and paler on the under
side. The flowers, single or in clusters, are over an inch across,
with clear yellow petals and deeper yellow anthers. This is common in
the mountains, across the continent, up to an altitude of ten thousand
feet, and is a troublesome weed in northern New England. It is also
found in Europe and Asia.
[Illustration: Arctic Cinquefoil--P. emarginata.
Shrubby Cinquefoil--Dasiphora fruticosa.